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The NFL has a long history of really good and great players who spent the majority of their careers toiling away on terrible teams.
In recent NFL history, Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been one of those players — one of the league’s most respected players at his position on a team that can’t get right.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine singled McLaurin out as the No. 2 most underrated wide receiver in the NFL headed into the 2024 season.
“Terry McLaurin is one of a handful of receivers who have eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons,” Ballentine wrote. “The others didn’t have to deal with the sheer amount of quarterback turnover that Scary Terry has seen in Washington. A rundown of the quarterbacks who started games for the Commanders over the last four seasons doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators. A 36-year-old Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell highlight the list.”
McLaurin made his lone Pro Bowl in 2022 and is in the second season of a 3-year, $68.36 million contract extension that will pay him $18.5 million in 2024 and $18 million in 2025.
Help Is on the Way for McLaurin, Commanders
The Commanders made one of the biggest moves of the offseason when they drafted LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
If everything goes right for McLaurin and the Commanders, Daniels will be the quarterback for the rest of his time with the team.
Since McLaurin joined the Commanders in 2019 as a third-round pick out of Ohio State, he’s played with 10 different starting quarterbacks — none of whom has made a Pro Bowl.
Yet, somehow, McLaurin has continued to put numbers on the board no matter what journeyman quarterback he has throwing him the ball. He had his career-high 1,191 receiving yards in 2022 while catching passes from Taylor Heinicke (9 starts), Carson Wentz (7 starts) and Sam Howell (1 start).
“The good news for the 28-year-old is that his days of going from quarterback to quarterback might be coming to an end,” Ballentine wrote. “With the Commanders drafting Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick, they have a promising blue-chip prospect to build around. McLaurin is going to make life easier for him as a legitimate No. 1 receiver who is too often forgotten.”
Little Help From Other Commanders Wide Receivers
One thing that needs to be pointed out as well is that McLaurin has gotten little help from other pass-catchers on his own team.
Most notably, Washington selected Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the first round (No. 19 overall) in 2022 and he’s been an almost unquestioned bust through his first two seasons.
Dotson missed five games as a rookie in 2022 and finished with 35 receptions for 523 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 12 games. Dotson played all 17 games for the Commanders in 2023 but his stats got worse with 49 receptions for 518 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had arguably the worst hands of any wide receiver in the NFL, leading the league in drop percentage.