The Washington Commanders have a new wide receiver duo for Jayden Daniels this season. There’s Terry McLaurin, but during training camp, the Commanders decided to sign Stefon Diggs to give themselves a reliable one-two tandem.
Last season for the New England Patriots, Diggs played 450 pass snaps, earning him an 87.5 overall PFF grade. The 32-year-old hauled in 85 receptions on 100 targets for 1,013 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Moreover, he averaged 11.9 yards per reception on the season and generated 363 yards after the catch.
Despite being in his early 30s, Diggs can still produce and be a reliable option for Daniels this season, as Washington Post reporter Tashan Reed, who covers the Commanders, noted.
“I think even with Stefon being a little bit older and coming off the injury a couple years ago with the Texans, he’s still pretty good,” Reed said on the Aug. 21 edition of “NFL Spotlight With Ari Meirov.”
“He had 1,000 yards last season with the Patriots despite not having that many targets compared to your typical No. 1 option.”
Moreover, Reed hints that if injuries stay away, McLaurin could be in line for a bounce-back season after a challenging 2025 campaign.
“Terry McLaurin had a down year last year, similar to Jayden, mostly due to injury,” Reed added. “He just wasn’t out there as much due to that lingering quad injury that he had. I think that, combined with the contract dispute, made last year bad all around for McLaurin. But even at 30, being on the older side along with Diggs, I think that they still have one of the better receiving duos in the league between those two.”
Terry McLaurin to Benefit From Stefon Diggs Addition
Reed also notes that McLaurin stands to gain the most with Diggs now in the mix with Washington. If the Commanders hadn’t signed the veteran, McLaurin would have faced many opposing defenses targeting him to take the veteran away from Daniels. Now, with Diggs, that won’t be the case.
“Something that stood out in the first couple weeks of training camp was that they really didn’t have somebody who could win consistently on the outside besides McLaurin,” Reed said.
“You could just see that was going to be a problem. Defenses were clouding to his side of the field, sending him extra help in coverage. That’s probably still going to happen to a degree, but not as much with Diggs out there.”
Last season, injury limited McLaurin to playing 284 pass snaps, leading to an 86.5 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he hauled in 38 receptions on 59 targets for 582 receiving yards and three touchdowns. McLaurin also averaged 15.3 yards per reception and generated 99 yards after the catch.
Commanders HC Dan Quinn on Stefon Diggs
Now that the Commanders have had Diggs in for a handful of days in training camp, head coach Dan Quinn shared his thoughts on what he’s seen from the four-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s going to be a difference maker,” Quinn said during an Aug. 18 appearance on 106.7 The Fan. “He’s actually an incredible teammate to see. I coached against him for years, but he’s good against man-to-man. He knows where to sit down in zone. He’s got excellent football IQ, football acumen.
“That’s something that you don’t know about somebody until they’re in your building or on the practice field with you. Hearing him detail things, it’s been nice for some of the other players even to hear his point of view on certain things. He’s off to a really good start.”
Commanders Insider Gets Blunt on Stefon Diggs, Terry Mclaurin Duo