Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is off to the best start of his NFL career. A young franchise quarterback (Jayden Daniels) and a creative offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) have done wonders for McLaurin.
McLaurin has already tied a career-high with seven touchdown receptions and the Commanders have five games left to play.
However, one problem from the past seems to be coming back. Washington hasn’t targeted McLaurin enough, especially earlier in games. The Commanders’ offense operates at a much higher level when McLaurin is involved.
McLaurin is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards. Yet, 27 players have more targets than McLaurin. Over the last four games, Noah Brown, Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler each have more targets than McLaurin for the Commanders.
That needs to change.
Daniels and Kingsbury understand McLaurin’s importance to the offense.
“I mean, I want to get the guys the ball as much as possible,” Daniels said. “Terry’s a dynamic player, but the defense dictates where the football goes. So, I gotta go out there and do my job.”
Daniels is right. The lack of a surefire No. 2 receiver continues to plague Washington. While Noah and Dyami Brown, rookie Luke McCaffrey and Olamide Zaccheaus are nice offensive pieces, none demand the type of coverage to force defenses to stop double-teaming McLaurin.
“I mean, it’s a fine line,” Daniels reiterated about the balance of forcing the ball to McLaurin or taking what the defense gives him. “If they give me an opportunity, we take it, but if not, we don’t want to put the ball in harm’s way for the defense to be able to make plays on it.”
Kingsbury didn’t dive deep into the subject but made it clear that McLaurin needs the ball more.
“Terry’s the guy we have to get the ball to more, get more targets to throughout the game,” Kingsbury said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
The Commanders are trying to snap a three-game losing streak and face an excellent Tennessee Titans defense on Sunday. Will Kingsbury make it a point to get McLaurin involved early?