Commanders assured Terry McLaurin will excel with higher QB play
By Ralph Vacchiano
FOX Sports activities NFC East author
Ron Rivera may be very conscious of Terry McLaurin‘s worth. He made positive that re-signing the receiver was the Washington Commanders‘ prime offseason precedence. Actually, Rivera is the one who obtained the three-year, $69.6 million contract extension finished.
The Washington coach has seen how McLaurin can rework the Commanders’ offense. He acknowledges what the 26-year-old’s dynamic playmaking can do for brand spanking new quarterback Carson Wentz. He is aware of that McLaurin is without doubt one of the NFL‘s most harmful receivers.
Although it generally looks like nobody else does.
Ask anybody across the NFL to record the league’s finest wideouts, and it usually takes some time for McLaurin’s identify to come back up. Even amongst his friends, he is usually forgotten. The NFL’s annual High 100 record, as voted on by gamers, included 19 receivers final yr, however not McLaurin. There are eight receivers on the record thus far this yr, together with two rookies from final season, but McLaurin will not be on it, even with 20 spots (and possibly one other 5 – 6 receivers) nonetheless to go.
The shortage of respect might be maddening for a participant at a place with its share of huge egos. However for the 6-foot, 210-pound McLaurin, all of it simply appears to be extra gasoline.
“I believe it is easy to listen to the nice issues about your self,” McLaurin stated firstly of coaching camp this summer time. “I believe it is easy to listen to what you do properly, your strengths. And I take delight within the strengths in my recreation.
“However when my profession began to take an upward trajectory is once I began specializing in my weaknesses and making an attempt to make them strengths.”
The weaknesses in McLaurin’s recreation are arduous to search out, and it is clear that his arduous work has paid off ever since he was an unheralded third-round pick of Ohio State in 2019 — the twelfth receiver taken in that draft, by the best way. He had a superb rookie season (58 catches, 919 yards and 7 touchdowns in 14 video games) adopted by a spectacular second yr (87-1,118-4 in 15 video games). Final yr was a small step again, in line with the numbers, however his manufacturing was nonetheless wonderful (77-1,053-5 in 17 video games).
Terry McLaurin averaged 74.5 receiving yards per recreation in 2020.
Possibly these do not appear to be elite receiver numbers. However contemplate the circumstances McLaurin has been caught in whereas taking part in the primary three years of his profession in Washington, maybe the league’s most dysfunctional franchise. He is performed for 3 totally different head coaches (Jay Gruden, Invoice Callahan and Rivera). He is needed to be taught offenses below two offensive coordinators (Kevin O’Connell, Scott Turner).
And worst of all, he has caught passes from eight totally different quarterbacks, lots of whom fall below the class of “mediocre at finest.” The record contains, amongst others, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke and Garrett Gilbert, whose begin final season was simply his second in a nine-year NFL profession that he has spent bouncing round with 9 totally different groups.
Not surprisingly, final season — a marketing campaign by which Heinicke began 15 video games — solely 62.7% of the passes thrown to McLaurin have been thought-about catchable, in line with Professional Soccer Focus. That was the bottom proportion of any receiver with at the very least 100 targets in all the league.
That is loopy, and it is pretty much as good a proof as any for why the Commanders (who’re even on their third workforce identify since McLaurin entered the league) are 17-32 throughout his profession. It is no marvel why fairly a couple of folks across the NFL imagine McLaurin might be an All-Professional if he performed nearly wherever else.
However McLaurin selected to remain in Washington as a result of he believes in Rivera and the path the Commanders are headed, particularly now that they probably have stability at quarterback with the offseason commerce for Wentz. Sure, Wentz comes with loads of baggage, however even in a tumultuous season in Indianapolis final yr, he accomplished 62.4% of his passes for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns and simply seven interceptions.
He offers Washington one thing a number of earlier beginning quarterbacks actually could not: a reputable NFL starter.
And for a receiver like McLaurin, that might make all of the distinction on the planet.
“My rookie yr we performed Philly,” McLaurin stated. “I keep in mind watching [Wentz] play and the best way he threw a deep ball. I used to be nearly enamored by it, ? And his toughness within the pocket. I do not assume lots of people give him sufficient credit score.”
The Commanders clearly do. They imagine that with Wentz, they now have sufficient offensive weapons to maintain up with the Dallas Cowboys (the highest-scoring workforce in soccer final season) and the potent Philadelphia Eagles (twelfth in scoring total). The Commanders have an underrated operating again in Antonio Gibson, they usually imagine rookie third-rounder Brian Robinson might give them a robust 1-2 punch on the bottom. Tight finish Logan Thomas is again at follow and method forward of schedule in his return from a torn ACL and MCL final December, and his presence might present them with one other harmful weapon.
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If veteran receiver Curtis Samuel bounces again from his injury-riddled season and lives as much as the three-year, $34.5 million contract he signed final yr, and first-round receiver Jahan Dotson is the participant the Commanders assume he’s, that’ll go a great distance in direction of releasing McLaurin up from fixed double-teams.
The important thing to their offensive success, although, is most positively McLaurin. That is why the Commanders rejected any commerce presents they acquired throughout his transient spring contract holdout. On this explosive, pass-happy offensive period, groups merely cannot thrive with out an elite receiver. It is why the value for the perfect ones soared in the course of the wild offseason. As massive as his deal was when he signed it in early July, McLaurin remains to be simply the ninth-highest-paid receiver within the league.
After all, that does not appear to matter to him, identical to it did not appear to matter a lot that his friends left him off the High 100 record — once more.
“I do not know who else was on the record, however I might assume Terry can be a top-100 participant on this league,” stated Turner, his present offensive coordinator. “If I used to be doing the record, I might have him ranked there.”
The Commanders’ hope is that after this season, with a brand new quarterback and a few stability within the franchise, everybody will see that is precisely the place McLaurin belongs.
Chase Younger harm replace
Chase Young was officially placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Play list by the Commanders on Tuesday, that means he’ll miss at the very least the primary 4 video games of the NFL season.
The transfer was anticipated, since he is been out all coaching camp and remains to be recovering from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered final November. Rivera had beforehand stated he anticipated Younger to overlook the beginning of the common season. And although the workforce hasn’t specified his timeline to return, Younger is just not anticipated again till nearer to midseason.
The Commanders additionally positioned backup C Tyler Larsen (Achilles) on Reserve/PUP and minimize veteran T Rashod Hill and WR Kelvin Harmon, a former sixth-round decide (2019). And so they positioned LB Nate Gerry on injured reserve.
Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports activities, protecting the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the earlier six years protecting the Giants and the Jets for SNY TV in New York, and earlier than that he spent 16 years protecting the Giants and the NFL for the New York Each day Information. A Lengthy Island, N.Y., native and graduate of Syracuse College, he may be discovered on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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