PAST PRODUCTION
It only took one game for Washington to know they made the right decision drafting Terry McLaurin 76th overall in 2019. He burst onto the scene to the tune of five catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. There were the usual ups and downs of a rookie season, but out of 14 games played, McLaurin finished with eight double-digit fantasy games landing at WR24 in standard and WR29 in PPR.
According to Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception series, McLaurin won “at all levels of the field, coming in under the NFL average on just one route, the flat.” Harmon also puts McLaurin in rare air, saying that his “success rate vs. press is the third-best rookie season score in Reception Perception history.” The top two on that list? Odell Beckham Jr. and Tyreek Hill.
2020 OUTLOOK
Terry McLaurin was the number one receiver for Washington the moment he stepped on the field. Washington saw Steven Sims Jr. break out towards the end of last year, but he primarily plays from the slot. Kelvin Harmon was an interesting breakout candidate this year, but he tore his ACL a few weeks ago. The only other competition added came through the draft in the form of third and fourth-round picks, Antonio Gibson and Antonio Gandy-Golden. All of this just to say that McLaurin will continue to be the main receiving threat in that offense. QB Dwayne Haskins should look his way early and often as they learn a new offense under Ron Rivera.
Despite not having many long-term believers, Dwayne Haskins was still able to find his former college teammate as a rookie. Haskins targeted McLaurin on over 28% of his attempts in games they both played in. For comparison, Allen Robinson was fifth in the NFL with a 27% target share. Robinson was another one of Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception stars and another wide receiver with an inconsistent quarterback throwing him the ball, yet still managed to put up a top ten fantasy season on the back of his large target share and route-running ability.
Imagine Robinson, but with elite 4.35 speed and the ability to take any one of those 100+ targets to the house. McLaurin has the talent and the opportunity to put up huge numbers this year.
DYNASTY ANALYSIS
Despite only heading into his sophomore season, McLaurin is turning 25 this September, but this shouldn’t be a knock against him. McLaurin has one top 30 wide receiver finish under his belt already and he’s poised to be flooded with targets the next few years. The biggest long-term question mark is his quarterback situation, but if the team plays as poorly as last year, we might be seeing Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields at the helm in 2021. Follow the talent and the opportunity and you won’t be disappointed.
McLaurin has WR1 upside if the cards fall into place. If the cards don’t, he should be able to build on top of his wide receiver 30 finish making the downside very limited when taking him at his current ADP of WR22. Make sure to get McLaurin while you can still get the Washington “bad team” discount because this might be the lowest his value sits for a long time.
What do you think about Terry McLaurin this year? Hit me up @DFF_JoeMem on twitter to let me know! Be sure to sign up for the DFF monthly subscription so you can have access to my Dynasty Rankings and always be one step ahead of the competition!
