Jayden Daniels’ Return Could Put Antonio Williams in a Much Bigger Role

Commanders Daily News Links — With Jayden Daniels expected back and injuries affecting Washington's receivers, rookie Antonio Williams could be headed for his biggest opportunity yet. | Philip Hughes

The Washington Commanders face an interesting situation this weekend against one of their oldest and most bitter rivals, the New York Giants. The team is expected to get quarterback Jayden Daniels back just two games after he dislocated his non-throwing elbow in a contact-less situation. Daniels practiced fully for the first time since the injury on Wednesday, the same day Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs missed practice with hamstring injuries. McLaurin already missed the London game.

The potential of not having Diggs, who leads all receivers with 18 receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns — and/or McLaurin is nightmare fuel for the weak-hearted.

This is where having a dynamic player like Antonio Williams pays off. He can be that guy when and if needed. The great part is, he's already been ramped up, inadvertently, for this very opportunity. Williams has seen his snaps climb from 26 snaps (37%) in Week 1 to 44 snaps (69%) in Week 4, with 49% and 41% snap shares in Weeks 2 & 3, respectively.

Over that time, he has 12 receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown. Last week against Indianapolis, he had eight targets and caught three for 21 yards, but an 87-yard touchdown was called back due to penalties. His usage shows he's grown quickly from a complementary rookie to being in on two-thirds of Washington's offensive plays with McLaurin out.

Williams' most productive game as a pro came in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles when he was targeted four times and caught four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. In the three games since (two without Daniels), Williams has caught eight passes for 60 yards without another touchdown.

Antonio Williams (#14) All-22 on 10 routes vs Eagles

• 4 recs on 4 tgts
• 64 rec yds
• 1 TD
• 91.0 PFF overall grade (highest graded receiver in the game yesterday) #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/fGojlpffxz
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) September 14, 2026

Back at the end of July, McLaurin saw that Williams had the ability to contribute early on: "He has a good feel for the receiver position, and I think he has a chance to really help us, especially in [OC David] Blough's offense, where guys will be able to move around," McLaurin said.

While most think Williams is only a slot receiver, a trip through his game film from Clemson will show you that he played there his last year in college, but he had 317 snaps on the outside during the 2024 season and did well. Blough's offense is supposed to be designed for players to move around, so that should benefit Williams no matter if Diggs and McLaurin can't play or not. "I think he really excels in the slot, and I know he's gonna have a chance to move around, but I think it's just really important, especially when you're a young guy gaining that confidence," McLaurin said.

As we all know, more opportunities don't always turn into more production; as against Indy, Williams only had 21 yards on eight targets. But that conversation needs a little context, with the offense having to shift to a rookie quarterback with a different skill set, who the rest of the offense was not completely comfortable with, having not practiced much together, if at all. Then again, the 87-yard play that was negated by the illegal shift/holding penalties is the missing yardage. Daniels' expected return changes the quarterback situation, but doesn't eliminate the challenges facing the receiving corps.

The Commanders drafted Williams hoping he could become a meaningful part of Daniels' offense. Depending on how the next two days unfold, they might be asking him to prove that sooner than anyone expected.

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