As the preseason wraps up this weekend, a trade has injected some excitement into the fantasy football world. Former Washington Commanders receiver Jahan Dotson has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Commanders receive: 2025 3rd & two 2025 7ths | Eagles receive: Jahan Dotson & 2025 5th
Now that Dotson is in Philly, how does this impact the Washington offense? Are there players that should be considered as trade candidates? Overall, what does this mean for the Commanders’ WR2 and WR3 for fantasy in 2024?
What Washington Lost
The Commanders are cutting their losses by moving on from Jahan Dotson. He was a former first-round selection that wasn’t able to be a consistent threat in the offense over the last two years. He was a player coming out of Penn State that was undersized, but supposedly a speedy and fast receiver with the ball in his hands. Dotson hasn’t shown that ability as he ranks 77th in yards after the catch over his career. Dotson accounted for 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns over 2 seasons. The Commanders had over 600 pass attempts in 2023, and Dotson was basically non existence in fantasy.
Commanders Who Benefit From Trade
Terry McLaurin
We have to mention Terry McLaurin, whose value does get a slight bump whether or not you thought Dotson was going to make an impact. Four of the top-five target leaders from a year ago are gone. The pass catching outside of McLaurin has some potential for production, but none are near his level. McLaurin has always been a 130-target receiver, but we could see his best season yet. McLaurin, with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, could get focused as a reliable option in 2024. We could see McLaurin fight for the leagues’ top target leader this season.
If you are a team that is looking to compete in 2024, here are some recent trades with Terry McLaurin from the Dynasty Nerds GM tool:
I’d be making these moves to acquire McLaurin as a contender. Without a strong second option, McLaurin should rise to new heights in 2024.
Austin Ekeler
I’m not totally confident on this one, but that’s because we don’t know Austin Ekeler’s role in the offense. Jahan Dotson was the primary slot receiver in 2023. He played in the slot 40% of his snaps and his ADOT (average depth of target) was a 9.3 yards. It could be possible due to Ekeler’s veteran presence and skillset that he is used out wide at times.
It’s still cloudy to tell how the Washington Commanders’ backfield will turn out in 2024. I’d try to find someone that thinks Ekeler could see more passing volume with Dotson out of town. I’d wait and see if i could get a 2025 2nd or at least two 2025 3rds for him. I’d use the Dotson trade to leverage Ekeler while you can.
Commanders Tight Ends
The tight end room for the Washington Commanders should see a boost in target share with Dotson out of town. Last year, Logan Thomas had 78 targets in an offense where he finished fourth in the pecking order. We can look for the young rookie quarterback to dump it off to his tight ends as a safety blankets over the middle. Zach Ertz’s name isn’t being mentioned enough in 2024. Granted his age is up there and they drafted youngster Ben Sinnott, but Ertz should be the day-one starter. When Ertz was first in Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense in 2021 and 2022, he was a solid tight end for fantasy. He finished 7th in fantasy points per game (9.4) in 2021. In 2022, he ranked 6th on a per-game basis among tight ends (9.7). Ertz is essentially a throw-in piece right now. As a contender, I’d try to scoop up Ertz for basically nothing right now.
Ertz isn’t being value for much and you could get him as a cheap back up tight end. Ertz has a favorable scheudule to start the season, so getting him now is key. Plus, if he does well, you could trade him for better value later in the season.
Ben Sinnott could easily take over the starting job at some point this season. Sinnott was already being valued highly in dynasty, so getting him may not come cheap. Sinnott is a firm hold for me in dynasty.
Next Commander Up
Outside of the boost we could see from the players above, there are two lesser-known players who could have a potential boost in production—Dyami Brown and Luke McCaffrey. Brown seems like he was already slotted for one of the outside roles in the offense when Dotson was on the field. Brown has been under 200 yards in each of his 3 years in the league. Could he reach over 70 targets in 2024? It’s possible. After two preseason games, Brown has seen solid production in the first team offense. While he won’t replace Dotson’s slot role, Brown will have a chance for a mini breakout in 2024. I’ve seen Brown on dynasty waivers so you could scoop him and see how his first month goes in the offense as the WR2. Don’t overbid to get Brown on your team. I’d use five percent or less of your FAAB budget since it’s a long shot for him to breakout.
Luke McCaffrey is the name that everyone is going to go crazy about now that Jahan Dotson is gone. McCaffrey was a third-round selection in the 2024 draft who projects as a slot receiver in the NFL. Through 2 preseason games, he has 4 receptions for 55 yards. Most of that production did come with the second-team offense. Perhaps the Commanders saw enough in “LMC” to trade away their 2022 first-round prospect.
Don’t expect to get McCaffrey cheap now since he will likely slide into the offense’s slot role. He could be a great PPR value for your dynasty roster. Before the trade, McCaffrey was being traded for Tim Patrick, Kenneth Gainwell, or a 2025 3rd. His value now is likely to jump to a late-2nd rookie pick. This could be the time to sell high on a player many dynasty managers believe will be an instant starter. He has a skillset that will fit in the slot, but will he see enough volume with Daniels at quarterback? I don’t expect the young rookie QB to make multiple players fantasy relevant—especially with his high-upside rushing ability. I’d shop around McCaffrey in your leagues prior to the season starting.
Thank you for reading! For further fantasy advice, hit me up on X @CoachStevenP or on the Dynasty Nerds Discord! My content is aimed for those in the #NerdHerd wanting easily-digestible information to help them win a dynasty championship.
