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Terry McLaurin was holding out of OTA’s and many were speculating a trade before agreeing to a three-year extension worth up to $71 million with the Washington Commanders. McLaurin is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and is heading into the 2022 season with what should be an upgrade at the quarterback position.
2021 season statistics & fantasy finish
He finished the 2021 season with 1,053 yards and five touchdowns. He played in all 17 games and had 77 receptions on 130 targets last season with Taylor Heinicke under center. McLaurin has not ranked lower than 16th in targets, target share, and receiving yards or receptions since entering the league. The biggest issue for McLaurin is he has not been able to score many touchdowns the past two seasons. He had seven in his rookie season but only had five in 2021.
Washington Commanders' offseason moves
The biggest move for the Commander's offseason is trading for quarterback Carson Wentz. Although many aren’t optimistic about this helping McLaurin in 2022, hopefully, this at least brings stability for him over the next three years.
2022 best-case scenario
Wentz finds a new favorite target and it’s McLaurin. McLaurin is the WR1 on this team and two of his main strengths are his deep threat and his dependability. If these two can develop chemistry, Wentz is going to trust McLaurin and give him shots downfield. He had 24.5% of the target share in 2021, expect this percentage to grow in 2022 with Wentz under center.
2022 worst-case scenario
Wentz stinks! If Wentz can’t put up decent numbers he won’t get this offense moving and McLaurin’s fantasy value will plummet. His fantasy production is going to really depend on the quarterback play so we need to cross our fingers for a good year out of Wentz.
2022 prediction
Per PFF, McLaurin’s 2.8% drop rate since 2020 is the ninth-lowest in the NFL, his rate of catchable target ranks 59th. I am optimistic Wentz will be a good upgrade and the two will be able to build chemistry. He is a high-end WR2 with the potential to bump up to WR1 numbers.