If you’re looking for silver linings and bright spots as a Washington football fan, there was no player more important to you than Terry McLaurin in 2019. As a rookie, the third-round draft pick came into the NFL and set the league on fire in the first few weeks of the season, and he continued a solid rookie campaign throughout the year, rising to become one of the best young receivers in the game.
While it was a great platform of work to build on, what comes next will determine just how great of a career McLaurin will have. Washington’s WR coach Jim Hostler spoke to the media on Thursday morning, and he agreed with that sentiment, saying that with greater expectations for the second-year receiver, he will need to be that much better.
There weren't many who had high expectations on Terry McLaurin last year, but that has certainly changed, and Hostler pointed out there will be more attention on him now. His success, Hostler said, will be determined on how he manages the new expectations.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) August 6, 2020
It doesn’t help that there are few other players to worry about in the passing game for Washington. Hostler also admitted on Thursday that outside of McLaurin, he has no idea who the starters will be this year, while players like Steven Sims, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and Dontrelle Inman look to step up into a larger role. With that lack of production to start, defenses will be able to key on McLaurin and potentially send an extra man his way, making it that much harder for him to have an impact. It may be unfortunate, but that is the reality in the NFL, especially when you’re as talented as McLaurin. A solid rookie campaign has expectations through the roof, and how he manages those will tell us a lot about him going forward.
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