Commanders Select Another Ohio State WR in Latest Mock Draft to Join Terry McLaurin

Free agency has come to a crawl here in Week 2, but the Washington Commanders had one of the better open market periods across the league.

While Washington was able to seemingly fix plenty of the holes that caused them to go 5-12 last season, there is one glaring spot that they still need to address with the 2026 NFL Draft just over a month away.

That one area is a legit wide receiver two that can help take the load off of Terry McLaurin's shoulders and provide another reliable target for quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Commanders have added depth to the room this offseason, but have yet to acquire a player who can do that. And for that reason, NFL.com's Eric Edholm has the Commanders taking perennial WR1 in the NFL Draft, Ohio State's Carnell Tate, with the seventh overall pick.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

From Buckeye to Commander

"The Commanders really need a complement to Terry McLaurin," wrote Edholm. "Tate naturally gains easy separation and generates big pass plays for his size, which is the kind of skill set Jayden Daniels could use."

Pairing Tate with McLaurin brings automatic appeal to the Commanders' offense. Being labeled as the next ready-made wideout out of Ohio State, Tate would join McLaurin as two Buckeyes being the first and second options for Jayden Daniels.

With Deebo Samuel not expected back in Washington, the Commanders have made a concerted effort to bring in a receiver to complement McLaurin. They have tried to big game hunt in free agency, but to no avail, so getting the top guy in the draft seems like the easiest and most logical move.

Tate's numbers over his collegiate career aren't all that eye-popping, but he did have nine scores this past season. At 6'3", Tate is a vertical threat who can win immediately on the perimeter, and while he isn't necessarily a yards after catch monster, he tracks the ball extremely well and works back to the quarterback – traits that play well into Daniels' strengths as a quarterback.

Getting Tate and McLaurin will force defenses into a pick your poison situation, especially with above-average depth to go along with them, likely ending the double teams that followed McLaurin everywhere in 2025 that slowed the offense and prohibited any sort of consistency.

One could make the case that general manager Adam Peters should target a secondary piece like corner or safety Caleb Downs with the seventh overall pick, but unless they can trade for a legitimate threat on the outside before the draft, we should fully expect the pick here to be on the offensive side of the ball.