What would general manager Adam Peters do to improve the Washington Commanders after their surprising run to the NFC championship game? It seemed logical to throw multiple resources at a defense that struggled badly at times last season, especially against the run.

While Peters made multiple additions to the defense, the most notable additions were on offense. Before free agency, he sent a fifth-round pick to his old team, the San Francisco 49ers, for former Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

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During the opening of free agency, the Commanders shocked everyone by trading for five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. It was shocking because no one knew Tunsil was even available, and why would the Texans trade away one of the league’s best left tackles while they’re trying to protect a young quarterback (C.J. Stroud)?

Samuel’s addition gives the Commanders a legit No. 2 wide receiver to take some attention away from Terry McLaurin. Tunsil is one of the league’s top left tackles, and allowed Washington to move Brandon Coleman to right tackle or inside at guard.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN reviewed 15 offseason additions that could either break out — or flop. Before we get into what Barnwell said about Samuel and Tunsil, they’ve already broken out, but he thinks both could be excellent pickups for Washington, calling Tunsil a “bargain” at his price, while he believes Samuel will be productive.

Here’s some of what Barnwell said about Samuel:

Samuel is the YAC god. Samuel has ranked first (2021), first (2022), first (2023), and second (2024) in ESPN’s YAC score over the past four seasons. While he benefited from playing around other star playmakers and for Kyle Shanahan, he exhibits a generational ability to break through tackles and run away from defenders.

That’s a great trick, but it hasn’t led to spectacular seasons. Samuel’s 1,405-yard campaign in 2021 was three full years ago now, and it’s the only time he topped 900 receiving yards in a single campaign. Samuel had five plays of 50 or more yards that season, which is more than he had over the other seasons of his career combined (four). Even for a player with his talents, that sort of performance was unsustainable.

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Barnwell believes that Samuel’s spectacular 2021 season may have skewed what has been a consistent performance throughout his career.

Leave that 2021 season out of the analysis and there’s a relatively consistent player here. Samuel will create a few big plays out of nothing and run through a few defenders. He’s going to drop a few more passes than you would like and miss a couple of games each season, but that’s perfectly reasonable for a WR2. He will do well with the high quantity of screens and RPOs the Commanders ran last season, but don’t expect his production to reach the 2021 heights.

As for Tunsil, Barnwell acknowledges he’s not perfect, but he hinted his departure had more to do with the Texans not wanting to give him a long-term deal than with Tunsil still not being a good player.

The Commanders, meanwhile, have their own young quarterback they want to protect. And while it looked like they were comfortable keeping Brandon Coleman along as their left tackle of the future, general manager Adam Peters clearly thought Tunsil wasn’t a liability or on the downswing when he traded a pair of Day 2 picks to acquire the five-time Pro Bowler.

The numbers suggest Tunsil was solid last season — as a blocker. NFL Next Gen Stats credits him with 2.5 sacks allowed, which is a good number for a left tackle playing a full season. His quick pressure rate was right around league-average (2.2%). He had some trouble with speed around the edge, as Will McDonald IV and James Houston were able to go outside him and create sacks of Stroud, even if they didn’t finish the job themselves.

Tunsil’s penalties were way up last season, and he had an abnormal number of false starts. That could prove to be an outlier for Tunsil.

Barnwell thinks Tunsil could be a bargain over the next two years when you consider what lesser offensive tackles have received.

The Commanders, on the other hand, probably see a player who has another contract or even two ahead of him. The illegal formation penalties were all in one game, suggesting they might have been from an overzealous officiating crew. Tunsil has had issues with flags in the past, but 2024 was the first time he led the league in penalties or came close since 2019. And frankly, in an offseason when Dan Moore Jr. and Jaylon Moore signed for at least $15 million per season to play left tackle, Tunsil making $21 million per year in 2025 and 2026 might feel like a bargain.

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The Commanders are banking on Samuel and Tunsil as significant additions to help young quarterback Jayden Daniels lead the Commanders back to the NFC championship game and potentially more.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Analyst says Commanders’ Laremy Tunsil could be a bargain over 2 years