Who Should I Start? Luke McCaffrey or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Wednesday, August 5, 5:51 AM

The Washington Commanders have one of the league's most wide-open receiver depth charts behind locked-in starter Terry McLaurin, but a player who has been consistently showing up through the early stages of training camp has been third-year wideout Luke McCaffrey. Commanders reporter Ben Standig points out that McCaffrey has regularly seen work alongside McLaurin and Treylon Burks in three-receiver sets, and on an overall down day for the offense on Tuesday, the 2024 third-round pick stood out with a number of positive plays. McCaffrey's usage was on the rise in year two before a broken collarbone ended his season on the opening kickoff of a Week 9 loss to the Seahawks, but with the injury squarely behind him, he's been able to stand out from a muddled receiver room, and he energized the crowd on Tuesday with a pair of deep connections from Jayden Daniels. McCaffrey is not a player regularly being drafted in 2026 lineup leagues, but if he can continue to develop chemistry with Daniels and earn a regular role in the Commanders' offense, he could work his way into streaming consideration by season's end.