The Washington Commanders are committed to upgrading the wide receiver room in 2026. Terry McLaurin is under contract, as are young players like Jaylin Lane and Luke McCaffrey. Washington re-signed Treylon Burks, and brought back Dyami Brown in free agency, along with signing veteran Van Jefferson.
That’s a solid room, but it’s not enough. You can’t say GM Adam Peters hasn’t tried, though. Peters aggressively pursued Colts receiver Alec Pierce in free agency. Pierce returned to Indianapolis on a four-year, $114 million deal. Washington also pursued Romeo Doubs, who signed with the New England Patriots. After missing out on those two, Peters pivoted to adding Brown and Jefferson.
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No, Brown and Jefferson weren’t signed to start. They were signed to ensure Washington’s receiver room wasn’t as bad as it was last year if McLaurin goes down for any period of time.
The Commanders are viewed as the favorites to sign 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk once he’s free. Who knows when that will be? Washington can’t afford to wait, so the franchise has met with various receiver prospects at the Senior Bowl, the NFL combine, and via Zoom, or has hosted them on top-30 visits.
Some of the top prospects, such as Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, have confirmed visits with Washington. You can add another name to that list: De’Zhaun Stribling of Ole Miss.
Stribling revealed to Justin Melo of Sports Illustrated that he’s met with several teams, including Washington.
I had formal interviews at the NFL Combine with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams. I’ve had a ton of virtual meetings, I’ve met with a lot of teams virtually, like the Seahawks, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans, earlier this week.
Stribling is an interesting prospect. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Hawaii native began his career at Washington State and also had a stop at Oklahoma State before finishing his career in the SEC with the Rebels. He was productive in four of his five college seasons. The one season he didn’t produce was because a hand injury ended his season after four games.
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In his lone season at Ole Miss, Stribling caught 55 passes for 811 yards, averaging 14.7 yards per catch, and six touchdowns. He finished his collegiate career with 216 receptions and 23 touchdowns. Stribling would give Washington’s offense something it lacks: speed. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the NFL combine.
When you consider his size, speed, and college production in three different conferences, it’s understandable why Stribling is receiving so much attention ahead of the NFL draft.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Ole Miss WR confirms pre-draft meeting