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Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin doesn’t always get the respect he deserves as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. While rankings are always subjective, McLaurin is on some top 10 lists yet absent from others.
McLaurin is entering his fifth NFL season in 2023. In four seasons, McLaurin has 299 receptions, 4,281 receiving yards and averages 14.3 yards per reception. He also has 21 touchdown receptions. All of this while catching passes from 10 different quarterbacks.
Imagine if McLaurin finally gets stability at quarterback.
It doesn’t who has lined up across from McLaurin over the years. And the type of coverage doesn’t matter either. McLaurin dominated against zone coverage last season, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF ranked the top 10 wide receivers vs. zone coverage in 2022 and ranked No. 6.
Receiving grade vs. zone coverage: 84.8
Out of these exceptional 10 receivers, McLaurin led them all with 16.1 yards per reception. He has consistently won down the field in his time in Washington despite not having the best quarterback play. Another thing that just pops when watching McLaurin is his ability to play much bigger than his 6-foot stature. He brought in 68.4% of his contested catch opportunities in zone coverage, an impressive 13-of-19.
He averaged 2.34 yards per route run last season against zone schemes, which ranked top 10 among qualified receivers. McLaurin also had 836 of his yards come against zone coverage, which ranked just outside the top five. He did this on a 13.9 average depth of target, showcasing his ability to be one of the better deep threats in the NFL.
Some of the players ranked ahead of McLaurin are Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp.
McLaurin thrives against man coverage, too. Again, we ask, what if he finally receives some stability at quarterback?