Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update: Terry McLaurin, WR WAS

Bruce Matson Posted On May 20, 2019

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Name: Terry McLaurin

Position: Wide Receiver

Pro Team: Washington Redskins

College Team: Ohio State Buckeyes

Draft Status: Round three, 76th overall

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

COMBINE REVIEW

Height: 6’0’’
Weight: 208 pounds
Arms: 31 1/2’’
Hands: 9 1/8’’
Wingspan: 75’’
40-Yard Dash: 4.35
Vertical: 37 1/2
Broad Jump: 125
3-Cone Drill: 7.01
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.15

STRENGTHS

Polished route runner who uses nuance and athleticism to break off routes
Good lateral quickness
Quick release off of the line of scrimmage
Uses speed to eat cushion between him and the defensive back
Uses hands well to beat press coverage
Has great size-adjusted speed
Hard to cover at the catch point due to his physicality and his ability to box out defenders
Good ball skills and is aggressive when the ball is in the air
Can play on special teams

WEAKNESSES

Doesn’t break off routes with urgency
Will allow passes to get into his body
Needs extra time to accelerate to top speed
Wasn’t productive at the college level

OPPORTUNITIES

The Washington Redskins don’t have a true alpha receiver to soak up all the targets. The closest thing they have to a veteran presence is Paul Richardson. The team drafted Josh Doctson in 2016 to be their future WR1. He hasn’t panned out and now the Redskins has to reboot their wide receiver corps along with their entire passing game. Jordan Reed has been the team’s most consistent passing target in recent years but his injury is about as frustrating as it gets.

McLaurin is stepping into an ambiguous situation that might allow him to see significant playing time as early as his rookie season. There’s not much competition on the roster for targets and he could finish 2019 as the team’s leading receiver which doesn’t say much considering the offense couldn’t elevate any of the receivers over the 600-yard mark last year. Nonetheless, he has the opportunity to take the bull by the horns and carve out a huge role within the offense.

He’s the only wide receiver on the team who has familiarity with newly drafted quarterback Dwayne Haskins. There’s already a little bit of a rapport between the two players which could ease the transition for McLaurin.

THREATS

The Redskins are doing a complete overhaul of their passing offense. They drafted Haskins at 15 overall to be their starting quarterback and they are planning on building the offense around him. This means getting him more offensive weapons for him to throw the ball to which means more competition for McLaurin.

Just because the team burned a third-round pick on him doesn’t mean they are settled with him as being their clear cut number one receiver. They are going to add receivers to this team through the draft and free agency which could take the wind out of McLaurin’s sails. The 2020 WR class is deep with talent and all it takes is the Redskins selecting a receiver or two early in the draft to hurt his dynasty stock. This is likely going to happen considering how poor the team is at wide receiver.

Going into the draft, Kelvin Harmon was considered one of the top wide receivers in the draft. He was rendered as a second-day pick before the draft happened. Just because he fell to the sixth round of the draft doesn’t mean he’s not talented. He could easily step up, play above expectations and develop into the team’s best receiver.

SHORT-TERM EXPECTATIONS

He should see the field early in his career. After all, there’s not much competition for snaps in Washington’s offense at the wide receiver spot. He should fit right in, lining up on the perimeter using his speed to stretch the field. His production should get better as he gets acclimated to the speed of the game.

McLaurin wasn’t the perfect prospect coming out of college, but he has some intangibles that could make him successful early in his career. His speed should allow him to flash some potential during the first couple years of his career.

LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS

At a minimum, he should carve out a role as the team’s field stretcher. McLaurin has elite level speed and defenses will need to account for that. Even if the offense doesn’t run through him, he can still help other receivers get open underneath the coverage. Being on the field can still net him some value in fantasy but it might not be consistent enough to be in your everyday lineup.

Another scenario to take into account is if he continues to build a relationship with Haskins and the quarterback-wide-receiver duo builds enough chemistry that they become a tough tandem to stop. Haskins definitely has the arm to hit him on the deep ball and that’s where McLaurin could excel. He may never be a WR1 in fantasy but as a deep threat who sees a respectable portion of the targets, he could be a decent flex option in fantasy.

His potential is actually limitless given his speed and athleticism. His true upside is developing into a burner who consistently torches defenses after the catch like Tyreek Hill. However, the odds of him maximizing his potential to the fullest and being implemented correctly by the coaching staff are slim. It’s still in the realm of possibilities, but I wouldn’t bank on it happening.

NFL PLAYER COMPARISON

McLaurin compares to Chris Godwin in a lot of ways. They both have a similar build and athleticism. McLaurin is actually a little bit faster. The two wide receivers were deemed as route running technicians while coming out of college. Coincidentally they were both drafted in the middle of the third round.

The biggest difference between the two players is that Godwin was productive in college and McLaurin wasn’t. Godwin broke out at 19.5 years old and McLaurin didn’t post a season with more than 750 yards receiving. Godwin also has better ball skills. Nonetheless, both players are very intriguing prospects.

PROJECTED ROOKIE DRAFT RANGE

According to DLF’s Rookie ADP, McLaurin is falling to the early third round with a 24.90 ADP, making him the 13th wide receiver off the board. I’m seeing similar results for him in my rookie drafts. He often slips to the third round. There are times where another league mate will pounce on him in the middle of the second round but those instances are few and far between.

He’s being drafted at a value. He’s going to get an opportunity play early in his career since the Redskins are close to having a wide-open depth chart. His price point makes him risk-free since most players drafted in his range won’t develop into fantasy relevant commodities.

McLaurin wasn’t a player ranked highly by many people going into the draft, but after his performance at the Senior Bowl, blowing up the combine with his speed, and getting drafted in the third round by the Redskins, he’s a player we have to take seriously in rookie drafts.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.