When the Washington Commanders landed Deebo Samuel for a fifth-round pick ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, it got fans talking in the DMV in a major way.
Finally, after going from zeros to heroes in 2024, the Commanders were pushing the chips to the center of the table to make a strong push in 2025, and they did so by landing another former Pro Bowler, following in the footsteps of last fall’s Marshon Lattimore deal.
Discussing the move on ESPN, Dan Orlovsky noted that he liked the deal, as he believes Samuel is a good fit in the Kliff Kingsbury offense.
“Yeah, it makes a ton of sense for me. If I had to use a phrase to describe Washington’s offense, it’s pace and space; that’s kind of their bread and butter and who they want to be. Mina talked about it, we’ve talked about it for a year now: the pace on offense, that no-huddle, and the space that creates, sometimes because of the tempo, sometimes because of how wide their formations are. And when you combine them together, that’s why you get so many perimeter screens,” Orlovsky noted.
“No quarterback in the NFL threw more perimeter screens than Jayden Daniels, so you’re talking about lining him up in the backfield and giving him the ball absolutely, but then you’re also talking about being in this no-huddle offense and giving a guy the ball on the perimeter right now who is as good with the ball in his hands out in space as anybody in the NFL. And there’s a simplicity to that that is so simple for an offense and a quarterback.”
Pretty good stuff, right? Well, Orlovsky wasn’t finished, as while yes, Samuel is a good fit with the team, Washington wasn’t a “Deebo Samuel away” from the Super Bowl last year and will need to keep building their roster to keep up with the Eagles.
“Washington is fascinating on tape because of this, and I loved Washington last year, I want to give them their flowers and credit them. I also don’t think that they can fall into the trap to think they are that close,” Orlovsky noted. “Five wins on the last play of the game, essentially? That’s not likely in the NFL. And so while they’re encouraged and intriguing, they’re not one move, one Deebo Samuel away from chasing down Philadelphia. There are still flaws on this roster that they very much so have to have an attack mindset and not resting on the success of last season mindset.”
Is Orlovsky on the money? In a word yes, yes, he is, as the Commanders, though impressive, did win a lot of close games in 2024 and would have been closer to the Dallas Cowboys than the Eagles if those five wins went the opposite direction. While Samuel does make Washington better, after taking a brutal beating from Philly in the NFL Championship game, it’s clear the Commanders need more to take things over the top.
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