The Commanders need to feed Terry McLaurin
It’s not too often a franchise comes across a cornerstone wide receiver, but when they do, it’s in their best interest to get the most out of them. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins — they know to use their weapons. Stefon Diggs and Tyreek Hill see an absurd amount of targets each game, resulting in a lot of yards, touchdowns and wins for their respective teams.
The Washington Commanders, on the other hand, just don’t do the same for Terry McLaurin. The former third-round pick has ascended to being one of the league’s best receivers in just under four seasons. And, after signing a three-year, $71-million-dollar extension this offseason, he’s the clear face of the franchise. On the field, it would make sense for him to be treated as such, right?
McLaurin has WR1 potential but gets treated like a WR2
Through eight games in 2022, McLaurin is tied for tenth in the NFL with 553 receiving yards, averaging just over 69 per game. If he continues on this pace, he’ll be over 1,000 yards for the third-straight time and the Commanders can feel good about their investment. That’s great, but they’d be wasting the career of a talented player who can be so much more.
Think about the best offenses in the league — the Bills, the Dolphins, the Eagles. Besides a stud quarterback, what do all of these passing attacks have in common? A star wide receiver. The Bills go after Diggs and their offense becomes lethal. The Dolphins send the house for Hill and Tua Tagovailoa becomes a top-10 QB. The Eagles pick up AJ Brown to help them on an undefeated quest. All three players are in the top five in receiving yards this season because their team consistently features them in the game plan.
As for McLaurin, the opportunities just aren’t there. Only 35 of his 53 targets this season have been considered catchable. He also has just four red zone targets and two touchdowns. Those are very low numbers for the Commanders’ №1 passing option. If Washington were to give him the volume of a true WR1, a receiver with his skillset would carry this team to at least a few more victories.
Just get McLaurin the ball and let him do the rest
While McLaurin may not have the most eye-popping stats in the main receiving categories, he’s still having quite the season. Among other WRs through eight games he’s fifth in yards after contact (99), 10th in yards after catch (222) and third in broken tackles (5). On top of that, McLaurin is one of the best deep threats in the league, with 10 catches of 20+ yards and three catches of 40+ yards.
On almost every occasion, it’s a good idea to chuck it up to Terry. He’s always going to come down with it. Somehow, though, the Commanders average just 226.6 passing yards per game and McLaurin doesn’t get his fair share. In a more receiver-friendly offense — like the Bills, Dolphins or Eagles — he’d be seeing a much larger share of targets. In return, his numbers would be through the roof and the Commanders would likely win more games.
Moral of the story: get Terry McLaurin the football more. Instead of giving him four or five targets a game, throw it to him 10 times. Give him a chance to be great like the other top receivers in the league.
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