Terry McLaurin Contract Situation And Potential Fantasy Football Impact

There’s an old tweet from the hilarious Denny Carter where he summarizes the typical WR post as, “The enemy speaks kindly & holds a knife.”

It’s a very astute and funny observation about NFL WRs, who seem to attract drama at a higher rate than any other position group.

Something’s Brewing In D.C.

We highlighted Jauan Jennings angling for a new contract on Monday, and now Terry McLaurin has joined the disgruntled WR mix with a new contract request of his own.

Jesse Palmer shared some insights on the current situation, including:

The two sides haven’t talked in a month
He hasn’t decided if he’ll report to camp
He doesn’t know where he fits in the Commanders’ future plans

McLaurin presents an interesting riddle for fantasy. He posted a career-best WR14 finish last year and put to rest inconsistency concerns with 11 top-18 PPR finishes, which bested both Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase (h/t Ian).

On the other hand, he costs a third-round pick in most drafts, turns 30 years old in September, and now faces additional target competition from Deebo Samuel.

The scary thing about Terry (sorry) is that he’s never commanded a significant number of targets. You’ll need to tab over to the third page of the 2024 Utilization Report when sorted by “targets” (No. 36) to find him.

I’m not fully fading him—mainly because I don’t want to fade Jayden Daniels—but he’s going to need to run very pure on long TDs again to pay off this cost.

My guess is the Commanders feel similarly …

WHERE IS HIS ADP?

A Pre-Breakout Payday For Garrett Wilson?

We’re onto the third and final installment of Dwain McFarland’s Wide Receiver Breakouts series, and oh, what a perfect time for it to come.

Included in his third installment (Year 4-7 WRs with breakout upside) is Garrett Wilson, who the Jets just gave $90M guaranteed dollars to as part of a four-year, $130M extension. While he’s bound to dominate the target share with Davante Adams out of the picture, is the stage set for a Year 4 breakout from Wilson?

That depends on what version of Justin Fields shows up, but the underlying data has Wilson’s arrow pointing up, as Dwain outlines, lining up with his massive extension.

Dwain reveals why Wilson and seven other Year 4-7 wideouts make for prime 2025 breakout candidates at the position. ⬇️

HOW HIGH IS GEORGE PICKENS’ UPSIDE?

The 2025 Fantasy Life Draft Kit Is Here!

Rankings? Oh, how we’ve got you. Sleepers? Wake up and check these out. Risers? Fallers? Yes, yes. Bold predictions and breakout stars? Come here first. Mock Drafts? We have them, and more to come.

The Fantasy Life Draft Kit is ready as the calendar turns to the second half of the year. Yup, we can start to see fantasy football draft szn coming, which means we’ve consolidated all the information you’ll need in one place. Make sure to bookmark this page, because we’ll keep adding to it. ⤵️

RANKINGS, ROOKIES, BREAKOUTS, SLEEPERS … ALL HERE

These Sophomores Are Plenty Fresh

If you’re looking for Year 2 players to target like Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr., come on. You know us better than that. Those players are obvious picks. Let’s raise the level of difficulty a little. We want you to pick those players AND some players further down in drafts who can be game changers for your squad. And if you can hold it over your leaguemates that you won because of those deep cuts, all the better.

Coach Gene Clemons is back, and he put together a group of second-year players to keep an eye on later in drafts. It’s a pair of QBs who may be primed for a big jump, a WR with basketball hops, even an RB who could take over a potential committee. Remember these players come draft time. ⤵️

DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND ON THIS QB

Around the Watercooler

The latest NFL news and fantasy football analysis from our merry band of football nerds

📺 The four biggest pieces of news for fantasy football. Catch up and capitalize.

⚖️ An update on the Jordan Addison case. 3-game suspension looming?

🤑 First Garrett Wilson, now Sauce Gardner. The Jets are splashing around.

⚡️ New Chargers unis. Me likey.

😆 Russell Wilson thinks New York is the perfect place for his next chapter. It better be, because there were no other places for it.

👀 It’s the perfect setup for George Kittle.

🚨 Come play in a fantasy league run by Austin Ekeler. For charity.

👉 Swipe right for 6 bold predictions for 2025.

🧨 Don’t pass up these breakout players who are ready to pop.