In an effort to get a little smarter about the class and how it applies to the Commanders\u2019 plans<\/a>, at least what I think I know about those plans, I\u2019ve embarked on a now annual effort to compose position group big boards ahead of this year\u2019s draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quick Facts: Washington Commanders 2026 Receiver Targets\u00a0<\/p>\n Entity |\u00a0Role |\u00a02026 Context | It\u2019s no surprise that when we get to the end<\/a> of this exercise, receivers like Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, and Jordyn Tyson present Washington the best opportunity to get value for their pick. However, what surprised was that it wasn\u2019t any of those three who checked the most blocks, as offensive coordinator David Blough might covet in his receiver room.<\/p>\n That distinction went to North Dakota State University receiver Bryce Lance, the brother of quarterback Trey Lance, whom the Commanders’ general manager, Adam Peters, helped draft with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 and trade up to do so.<\/p>\n The Blough Archetype: North Dakota State’s Bryce Lance checks the most specific schematic boxes for David Blough\u2019s offense, possessing the ideal traits of a lid-lifting Z-receiver with X-receiver potential.<\/p>\n The Contested Catch King: While Lance is a Day 2 value, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate justifies the No. 7 overall pick with a ridiculous 86% contested catch rate and zero drops in traffic.<\/p>\n The Pick 71 Cliff: If Adam Peters passes on a scheme-fit receiver at No. 7, 70% of the top targets on this board are projected to be drafted before Washington gets back on the clock at pick No. 71.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Hear the full breakdown of David Blough’s ideal receiver fits on the latest\u00a0Locked On Commanders<\/a>\u00a0podcast, hosted by David Harrison.<\/p>\n
The Short Answer: For the 2026 NFL Draft, North Dakota State’s Bryce Lance is the top schematic fit for Washington Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough. However, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and USC’s Makai Lemon also rank highly on the team’s big board as premier targets for general manager Adam Peters.<\/p>\n While Lance comes in at No. 1 on this big board, it\u2019s important to put it in context. This big board list isn\u2019t intended to be a representation of which receivers should be drafted ahead of others, but as a key, of sorts, as to which players fit the most criteria for what I believe the Washington offense needs under Blough to optimize its potential. So when you see Lance, who has a late Day 2\/early Day 3 draft grade by most accounts, ranked here ahead of Tate who is expected to go as early as the top 10 of this year\u2019s NFL Draft, I\u2019m not subverting that in some hot take expose, but more so identifying that on a checklist of desirable traits, one has more of them (albeit at a lower valuation) than the others. That doesn\u2019t override the tape, production, and projection of the ceiling. It only serves as a tool to help us look ahead to who might be available when the Commanders next get on the clock, and how much those who are might fit into a specific or various roles. Clear? With that in mind, here is our top 10 big board for the receiver group available to Washington in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
1. Bryce Lance, North Dakota State<\/p>\n 3. Carnell Tate, Ohio State<\/p>\n 4. De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss<\/p>\n 5. Zachariah Branch, Georgia<\/p>\n 6. KC Concepcion, Texas A&M<\/p>\n 7. Denzel Boston, Washington<\/p>\n 8. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State<\/p>\n
Lance is a 6-foot-3 receiver weighing in at just over 200 lbs. and running a 4.34 40-yard dash time with a total relative athletic score of 9.98. Tall, big, fast, and athletic. As far as present-day Z Receivers (simply, an outside receiver who lines up off the line of scrimmage) go, with the tools to develop into an X (an outside receiver who lines up on the line of scrimmage and typically faces the hardest release off the line of scrimmage), he\u2019s got them all. Which is why he\u2019s at the top of the list.<\/p>\n The projected ability to lift the lid off opposing defenses and force them into playing with two deep safeties (also known as a two-high shell) on a consistent basis is attractive because of the ability itself, but also the space to operate underneath that shell with a receiver like Luke McCaffrey, a tight end like Chig Okonkwo, or a running back like Rachaad White. Not to mention the versatile ability of Terry McLaurin, who could make good use of more space as well.<\/p>\n While the traits are there, there are concerns in Lance\u2019s film, which is why he\u2019s expected to be available toward the end of Day 2. While he has a 61% contested-catch rate in college, which is very good, he has consistency concerns with his hands. And the level of competition he faced while playing at North Dakota State University doesn\u2019t help, as the jump from those opponents to NFL foes is going to be major.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, he has the athletic tools, and if receivers coach Bobby Engram can be entrusted to turn those tools into production at the NFL level, Lance is about as prototypical as they come as a rotational Z with the potential to develop into the team\u2019s X of the future.<\/p>\n
Lance isn\u2019t going to be the Commanders\u2019 first pick of the NFL Draft, we know that. But our No. 2 receiver on this big board might, even though he doesn\u2019t check all the blocks as Lance does.<\/p>\n When you leave a few measurables off the table, you have to make up for them, and while Ohio State\u2019s Carnell Tate isn\u2019t the biggest boundary receiver you\u2019ll see at 6-foot-2 and 192 lbs., it’s what he does with what he\u2019s got that makes all the difference.<\/p>\n Lance\u2019s 61% contested catch rate is very, very good. Tate\u2019s near 86% contested catch rate, according to Pro Football Focus, is downright ridiculous. The fact that his current mock draft projections have him as the eighth player taken off the board while Washington picks No. 7 means the value matches the selection spot if the team opts not to trade out of it.<\/p>\n As a player, Tate projects to fit as a Year 1 Z receiver who doesn\u2019t have the lid-lifting speed that would fit the profile of that position best, but came up with five touchdown catches of 40-yards or more in his last season in Columbus, regardless. His hands (zero drops on any contested catch in 2025) are among the best in the class, and his future progression as the team\u2019s new starting X receiver whenever it\u2019s time to move on from Terry McLaurin is easy to project.\u00a0<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t a lot of questions about Tate\u2019s game, outside of maybe: What kind of suit might he wear when he receives the 2026 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award?<\/p>\n Both Lance and Tate have an added bonus to their being selected if they are, and that\u2019s the potential to unlock McLaurin from the X Receiver position he\u2019s run over 70% of the time in the past two years and likely a similar amount the rest of his career.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve suggested that, perhaps in 2026, McLaurin could play in the slot more. Or, maybe he could even get some reps as the Z Receiver, getting to use his football intelligence without as much at the line disruption from opposing defensive backs who know they need to be physical with him from the start, lest they be left to look foolish on No. 17\u2019s next highlight clip.<\/p>\n Repeatedly, while that idea sounds like a good one in and of itself, I come back to: But then who will play the X?<\/p>\n Both Lance and Tate could provide rotational use there, and allow McLaurin to move around more, and allow Blough to draw up more advantageous scenarios for quarterback Jayden Daniels to better leverage his No. 1 receiver.<\/p>\n
If Washington goes another way, however, and decides to draft a new power slot receiver instead of unlocking McLaurin to move inside more, Makai Lemon out of USC is far and away this class\u2019s best option for doing so.<\/p>\n As trait fits go, he\u2019s up there with Lance, though at a position considered by me to be of lesser need than the Z or the future of the X Receiver positions, which drops him down the big board just a tad.<\/p>\n A power slot receiver is different than the lightning-quick slots you\u2019ve maybe gotten used to seeing. They use their size and intelligence to create openings, make contested catches, and prove to be hard to bring down as they gain yards after catch on a consistent basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Ben Johnson\u2019s offense during his days with the Detroit Lions, that was Amon-Ra St. Brown, and both men became stars in the NFL because of it.<\/p>\n For Blough, who is expected to run at least a similar style system, right now, Luke McCaffrey projects as the best option there. Lemon would be an instant fit and upgrade to that spot, and unlock McCaffrey to get some slot reps, but also work his way in as an outside receiver as well, where he has potential.<\/p>\n Lemon also offers added special-teams ability, which sweetens the projection a bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the public eye, his NFL Scouting Combine interview was…weird. There are also reports that he bombed his team interviews. If that\u2019s a fact, well, then that\u2019ll likely change his overall profile for Washington. Without that direct knowledge, however, there is no doubt his athletic profile is a fit for Blough, or at least what we believe the first-year coordinator is looking for.<\/p>\n
If there is a problem that this board reveals for the Commanders come draft weekend, it\u2019s that seven of the 10 names on it are expected to come off the draft board before Pick No. 71, Peters\u2019s second selection of the weekend, currently.<\/p>\n Meaning that if he doesn\u2019t get one of these fits at No. 7, he will lose 70% of the best fits available for his team by the time he gets back on the clock. The silver lining, if there is one, is that Lance is one of the three expected to still be sitting on the board. After 71, the last fit on the board (Zavion Thomas, LSU), is currently projected to go undrafted. Though players with his profile are hard to come by, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he is drafted sometime on Day 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the class of receivers overall might be deep, and it is, if Washington aims to land a top 10 fit for their system in the 2026 NFL Draft, that pool might be a tad more shallow than previously expected.<\/p>\n
Draft Profiling Data: Verified 2026 prospect athletic metrics (Bryce Lance 4.34 40-yard dash \/ 9.98 RAS) and advanced analytics (Carnell Tate 86% contested catch rate).<\/p>\n Roster Context: Confirmed David Blough’s schematic lineage to Ben Johnson’s Detroit Lions system and Terry McLaurin’s historic alignment rates at X receiver.<\/p>\n Collegiate Affiliations: Checked current 2026 university transfer data for prospects, including De’Zhaun Stribling (Ole Miss), Zachariah Branch (Georgia), and KC Concepcion (Texas A&M).<\/p>\n Want more daily Commanders coverage? Follow David for the latest breaking news and analysis on Twitter @DHarrison82<\/a> and tune in to the Locked On Commanders podcast<\/a> wherever you get your audio!<\/p>\n
Bryce Lance\u00a0|\u00a0WR Prospect | NDSU deep threat checking the most boxes for Blough’s scheme
Carnell Tate\u00a0|\u00a0WR Prospect | Elite Ohio State prospect with an 86% contested catch rate in 2025
David Blough\u00a0|\u00a0Offensive Coordinator | Looking for schematic fits at Z-receiver and power slot
Adam Peters\u00a0| General Manager | Faces a potentially critical drop-off in receiver fits after pick No. 71<\/p>\n
\nQuick Summary: Which wide receivers fit the Commanders’ offense best in the 2026 NFL Draft? <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f4e283cc-a121-453e-8154-f4cb91b77ef1_1140x641.jpg\")
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\nTop 10 Receiver Fits for the 2026 Washington Commanders <\/p>\n
\nBryce Lance provides the ultimate lid-lifting upside for David Blough <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/44ff4a7b-e67b-4481-931c-32cdcbfee8f1_1140x641.jpg\")
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\nCarnell Tate brings elite hands and undeniable value at the No. 7 overall pick <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ea45d2b9-57a7-475a-b723-0818bb30a319_1140x641.jpg\")
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\nMakai Lemon offers Washington an instant upgrade as a power slot receiver <\/p>\n
\nAdam Peters cannot afford to miss out on the early wave of schematic fits <\/p>\n
\nSources & Fact-Check Log <\/p>\n