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It didn’t take long for former Washington head coach Jay Gruden to know what he had in Terry McLaurin. Washington selected McLaurin with the No. 76 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
When training camp began, Gruden immediately saw McLaurin wouldn’t just be a contributor in his first NFL season. After he was selected, NFL draft analysts said McLaurin would be an outstanding special-teamer immediately. However, in the preseason, Gruden kept McLaurin under wraps, unleashing him in Week 1 as Washington’s No. 1 wide receiver.
In his NFL debut, McLaurin caught five passes for 125 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown catch from Case Keenum. McLaurin would’ve gone for 200 yards, or more, had Keenum not missed him for another wide-open potential score later in the game as McLaurin raced past the Philly secondary.
McLaurin would finish his rookie season with 58 receptions for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. Had it not been for Washington’s quarterback issues, McLaurin would’ve gone over 1,000 yards as a rookie.
Since 2019, McLaurin has had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, catching passes from 10 different quarterbacks. Last summer, he signed a three-year extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers.
ESPN recently named the top 50 draft steals over the last decade. McLaurin was ranked No. 29, with ESPN offering the following:
Scary Terry has been terrorizing NFC East cornerbacks since falling to the Commanders at No. 76 overall based on concerns about a lack of production and whether the Ohio State scheme created his openings. Yet McLaurin has eclipsed over 900 yards in each of his four seasons while becoming a top-tier deep threat for Washington.
That was Matt Miller’s assessment, by the way. Miller has an interesting track record in his analysis of current Washington players. We could argue that McLaurin should’ve been higher than No. 29. As always, though, we remind you that rankings are subjective.
A.J. Brown was the No. 51 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. McLaurin and Brown have put up comparable numbers, except that Brown has scored more touchdowns. The lack of touchdowns from McLaurin is a byproduct of questionable quarterback play. Additionally, Brown has played on better teams. ESPN ranked Brown as the No. 19 draft steal.
Regardless, both are phenomenal players.
The Commanders have enjoyed success from the third round and later in recent years, with McLaurin being the crown jewel.