David Blough’s 10-Target Promise Could Reshape Washington’s Offense

The Washington Commanders are a team with multiple question marks on both sides of the ball, including new coordinators finding their direction for the first time. Offensively, Washington hired assistant quarterback coach David Blough to take the reins as offensive coordinator. Blough (30) joined the Burgundy and Gold in 2024 following a brief NFL career that included stints in both Detroit and Arizona, the last of which was in 2023, having played for former Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury.

With Washington and Kingsbury mutually agreeing to part ways in January, the ultimate opportunity came to Blough, two years removed from still wearing a uniform, and as rumors swirled that Detroit wanted to add him in the same capacity. Keeping Blough, of course, means Jayden Daniels will keep one of the guys who has been by his side since arriving in Washington. Having that continuity is important. Daniels reportedly spoke up to try to keep Kingsbury, so supplying him with a familiar face is smart. The last thing you want from your franchise quarterback is a lack of comfort heading into season three. While Blough has so far played the part, saying all the right things, including talk of a plan to keep Daniels healthy and under center more, he's also a first-year playcaller, currently paired with a defensive-minded head coach. To say there are unknowns heading into the season would be a bit of an understatement.

Back in February, Blough had this to say when asked about the offensive direction he envisions: “This thing's going to be built around how do we get Terry 10 targets a game and get him explosive receptions after explosive receptions to kind of flip the field."

Those words likely played like music to fans of the burgundy and gold who have spent years arguing that Commanders WR Terry McLaurin, who will turn 31 in September, is underutilized. Terry routinely finds himself below all the game's best receivers in terms of targets every season, with some number-two receivers even getting more (see Tee Higgins). In fact, in the 27 games he was available over the last two seasons, McLaurin was only targeted 10 or more times on four separate occasions. During that same stretch, he saw nine games of only five or fewer targets.

The total number of targets is only part of it. Committing to that weekly volume with McLaurin would be a major change, but the bigger question is how Blough plans to create those touches. If Washington can move McLaurin around, use him to tilt/shift coverage, and still give Daniels clean answers away from him, the offense becomes harder to defend. If it becomes simply forcing the ball to No. 17, the plan becomes much easier for opposing defenses to solve.

Area of the Offense	Why It Matters
Jayden Daniels’ rhythm	A clear weekly plan for McLaurin gives Daniels a dependable first read without forcing the offense to become predictable.
Defensive coverage	If McLaurin is moved across formations, defenses have to reveal coverage and adjust leverage before the snap.
Play-action shots	A run-first structure can create cleaner explosive windows if linebackers and safeties are forced to respect the backfield.
Secondary weapons	The real test is whether McLaurin’s usage creates easier touches for Chigoziem Okonkwo, Luke McCaffrey, Antonio Williams, and the rest of the room.

At a charity golf event this past week, McLaurin was asked about the 10 targets a game quote and lit up at the idea of touching the ball more. "I love that. You know, he told me that way back in February. He texted me that. Him and I have a really good relationship. He's been a man of his word," McLaurin said. "My job is to prove that each and every day, when we're having workouts, to be the leader, to be someone who you can count on to be on the field and make plays. That's all I've been asking for. That's all I want -- to win games and have a big part of that. So I was definitely smiling when I saw that come across (my) phone."

10 targets a game for Terry McLaurin?
“I love that” pic.twitter.com/n91p0ouaiG
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) May 19, 2026

Terry is excited that Blough is set on featuring him in an offense that's not afraid to move players around when needed. "From OTAs and stuff, I could definitely tell that's going to be a part of it, along with the other guys as well," McLaurin said. "You know, there's going to be opportunities for me to take away coverage for Chig (Okonkwo) and for, you know, Trey and, you know, Bill (Croskey-Merritt) and just so many other guys on our offense. I think that's cool when you have an offense that has multiple looks and formations that can make things look the same and marry together. It provides opportunities for everybody because the defense has to worry about you being in the receiver position: one, two, and three on the left or the right. You know what I mean? There's just so many different combinations we can do now that I feel like it frees up a lot of people."

Making McLaurin the centerpiece of the passing game is smart. The challenge is making sure his increased role opens up the offense rather than narrowing it to the point of being one-dimensional. The best version of Blough’s plan is not simply forcing 10 throws to one receiver. It's using McLaurin’s abilities to make the rest of the offense easier to operate — especially for a young quarterback.

The Commanders' receiver room features a lot of young, unproven talent, including the team's third-round pick, Antonio Williams, as well as Dyami Brown, Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, and Van Jefferson. Even when you consider the free-agent addition of TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, McLaurin will be the most dynamic weapon on the field and should have no problems seeing 10 targets per game, especially in a system geared toward running the ball and effectively using the play action the way it's intended to be used. Of course, the other side of the pendulum is that forcing the ball to Terry McLaurin could stunt the development of young receivers, effectively give McLaurin crucial leverage in contract talks when his deal runs out, and hurt the long-term effectiveness of the offense. The last thing they want to do is fail to take advantage of Jayden Daniels' time to develop with weapons that make him comfortable, all while he's still under his rookie contract.

Blough's Intentions Are Clear

With Blough's intentions being very clear, and Terry McLaurin determined to get back to 1,000-yard seasons, defenders should be concerned about facing the Commanders' offense in 2026. The fact that everyone clearly knows McLaurin will get the lion's share of targets force-fed to him places a fair amount of pressure on Blough to produce a scheme that gets the job done. Keep in mind the team has also at least been open to pursuing other available pieces, including San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, who the 49ers have refused to release. The 49ers seem to have hit a stalemate with their star receiver, as they're set on finding a trade partner willing to take on Aiyuk's contract in return for what will likely be a lower draft pick. Up to this point, Washington has not been interested in parting with picks.

The team has also been tied to rumors surrounding free-agent WR Stefon Diggs (and his brother, free-agent CB Trevon Diggs), although there is no concrete evidence that the franchise is interested in offering the brothers contracts at this time.

While the team has not added any other big names at the position yet, if they do, that 10-target-a-game promise might feel a little different by September.

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