Back with the Commanders, Dyami Brown vows it's a "new me"

At a time when Commanders fans wonder whether Brandon Aiyuk will ever arrive, it’s important not to forget about a receiver who’s back for a second bite at the apple.

Dyami Brown, after a season in Jacksonville, has returned to Washington for a second stint.

Via Tony Adams of Heavy.com, a workout video posted by Brown on Friday makes a bold declaration.

“That’s for the old me,” Brown says at the end of the session after taking a swig of hydration. “And the old me gets a drink of water. The new me gonna make it rain. Watch.”

Brown entered the league with promise as a 2021 third-round pick from North Carolina (back when, before its current coach, UNC produced draftable talent). But the production never matched the potential.

As a rookie, Brown had 165 receiving yards on 12 catches in 15 games. In Year 2, he also appeared in 15 games. The good news is that he had an eye-popping 28.3 yards per catch. The bad news is that he had only five catches, for 143 yards.

In 2023, Brown had 12 catches in 17 games, for 168 yards. He performed better in his contract year, relatively speaking. But, still, 30 catches for 308 yards won’t make demand spike on the open market.

But then came the 2024 postseason, and a different Dyami Brown emerged. In the wild-card win over the Buccaneers, he had five catches on five targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. In the divisional upset win over the Lions, eight targets, six catches, 98 yards. Another 42 yards against the Eagles in the NFC Championship slaughter gave Brown 229 receiving yards for the three-game postseason — more yards than any of his first three full seasons.

Brown landed in Jacksonville, where coach Liam Coen said Brown would have a bigger role. It didn’t happen; 14 games, six starts, 37 targets, 20 catches, 227 yards, one touchdown. And five drops, matching his total from four years in Washington.

In the offseason, Brown signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal to return to the Commanders. And, especially without Aiyuk, the door is open for Brown to contribute.

Currently, there are no big names beyond Terry McLaurin on the depth chart. Treylon Burks is expected to be a starter, as is third-round rookie Antonio Williams. Brown is projected for now to be a second-string option.

If he truly is a “new me,” Brown should be able to get on the field, and to get some targets. By the end of quarterback Jayden Daniels‘s rookie season, they had chemistry. If, as it appears, the chemistry experiment between Daniels and Aiyuk has gone the way of Peter Brady’s volcano, Brown’s sixth NFL season has a chance to be his best.