Will Terry McLaurin Be A Bargain For Fantasy Football?
Ian Hartitz breaks down the Washington Commanders wide receivers, highlighting whether Terry McLaurin could outperform his fantasy football ADP.
We're seeing a pattern for what went wrong for the Washington Commanders last season. Star player suffers injury, setting the course on a truncated, disappointing season. That's what happened to Terry McLaurin in a nutshell. Now time to see if he can follow the narrative of him returning to health and previous success, like in 2024. Can he do it in his age-31 season? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Washington Commanders Team Preview.
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Should Terry McLaurin be prioritized in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts?
- WR1: Terry McLaurin (WR25 in Fantasy Life ranks)
- WR2: Antonio Williams (WR68)
- WR3: Luke McCaffrey
- WR4: Treylon Burks
- WR5: Jaylin Lane
- WR6: Dyami Brown
- WR7: Van Jefferson
The artist known as Scary Terry, unfortunately, saw his 2025 campaign largely undone by a nagging quad injury. Still, he looked the part when healthy enough to suit up, even improving his marks in yards per reception (13.4 vs. 15.3) and yards per target (9.4 vs. 9.7) relative to his career-best 2024 season.
On the one hand, McLaurin has generally been a better real-life receiver than fantasy stud over the years.
Terry McLaurin career PPR points per game:
- 2019: 13.7 (WR29)
- 2020: 14.9 (WR20)
- 2021: 12.6 (WR31)
- 2022: 13.5 (WR23)
- 2023: 12.3 (WR36)
- 2024: 15.8 (WR14)
- 2025: 11.4 (WR34)
On the other hand, 2024 was essentially the only time that he received anything close to resembling elite QB play, and this passing game is WIDE open when it comes to target competition. I consistently find myself complaining to Fantasy Life Director of Analytics Dwain "The Rock" McFarland that McLaurin's target projection isn't high enough (113, c'mon Dwain!).
Turning 31 in September, McLaurin isn't exactly in the age range that we see a steady diet of high-end fantasy receivers, but that sure seems to be baked into his WR25, pick 50 ADP. Maybe it's the scarlet and grey that flows through my veins, but I'm willing to bet on this specific elderly receiver thanks to the reality that he checks every other box we look for in terms of:
- Being good at football (would likely have 1,000+ receiving yards in all 7 career seasons with better health)
- Having very little target competition (150 targets this season shouldn't surprise anyone)
- Playing with a good QB (certainly felt better about this going into last season)
Add it all together, and I am the highest Fantasy Life ranker on McLaurin (WR22), who I have in the same tier as fellow (baller) uncs like Davante Adams and Mike Evans.
Also note: The aforementioned lackluster depth chart makes it possible that we see third-round rookie Antonio Williams relied on plenty, although it also wouldn't be surprising to see increased usage of 12 and 13 personnel—formations that could leave Williams on the bench if Washington is dubious about his ability to play on the outside at the professional level. Still, Williams did flash the ability to work out wide at Clemson, and he projects as the No. 3 pass-game option with room to move up. I've seen far worse late-round re-draft/best ball and third-round dynasty picks. … Luke McCaffrey has earned just 39 targets in 26 career games while never reaching a snap rate higher than 65.7%. McCaffrey's next game with 60 receiving yards will be his first. Maybe the departure of Deebo Samuel leads to a newfound full-time role for LMC, but it's tough to be overly excited about the 25-year-old talent. … Treylon Burks or Jaylin Lane could be competing for the third WR job if the team is dubious about either Williams or McCaffrey working on the outside. Burks made one of the best catches of 2025 that you probably don't remember, while Lane also flashed as a downfield threat on a few occasions. It sounds like Burks probably has the edge, but it's tough to see a real non-injury-contingent path to upside here.
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