Jayden Daniels ($7,300) injured his ribs early in last week’s blowout over the Panthers and after being called week-to-week, the quarterback will not practice Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Bears. There is a chance Daniels misses the rookie quarterback duel with Caleb Williams ($6,000) and if Daniels is inactive, Marcus Mariota ($5,300) will start at quarterback for the Commanders. But how much would this quarterback change affect Terry McLaurin ($6,900)?
With Mariota under center for 86% of the snaps last week, McLaurin remained productive, catching all six of his targets for 98 yards (15.8 FPTS). The receiver saw a 22% target share with Mariota in the game, which is only a slight drop from McLaurin’s 25.8% target share for the season. Obviously, this is a limited sample of less than one full game, but if Mariota gets the start this Sunday, it appears that McLaurin will still garner No. 1 receiver-type usage.
That being said, it will be difficult for Mariota to match Daniels’ efficiency as a passer – the rookie ranks fourth in yards per pass this season at 8.4 – and Week 8 presents a tough matchup for the Commanders with the Bears in town.
Chicago is the fourth-highest graded defense on PFF and it is allowing the third-fewest yards per pass this season (5.7). Mariota absolutely would run into some trouble in this matchup and McLaurin’s numbers would naturally suffer with his quarterback struggling. The Bears have only surrendered three touchdowns to receivers this season and if Daniels misses the game, you should continue to start McLaurin in your fantasy leagues, but our expectations will need be to be tempered.
With Daniels’ status still to be determined, Washington is a 2.5-point underdog vs. the Bears on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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