“Defensive coordinators are smart; they’re going to try to take him away, there’s no doubt.”
That was how Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury responded during his press conference when asked about Terry McLaurin’s lack of production thus far in 2024.
Thirty-nine receiving yards in two games for McLaurin is tough to imagine, even more to swallow. It has come on eight receptions, which means McLaurin is averaging a paltry 4.9 yards a reception. Re-read that: 4.9 yards is not a carry but a reception.
Kingsbury responded, “That’s my job to find ways to answer that. So far, I haven’t done a great job of it. For me and the staff we have to be better moving forward.”
That was Kingsbury in public, taking the blame on himself. In private, you know he has shown Daniels how he has missed McLaurin being open for some big plays as these two shown here.
Jayden Daniels hits both of these on Sunday. #RaiseHail
Terry McLaurin 2 Catches 130yds 2TD pic.twitter.com/gmDnGREwYs
— Deuce__ @redzoneinthelab podcast (@redzoneinthelab) September 11, 2024
Who would have thought that through the first two games, and McLaurin has played the majority of the games, his longest reception would be for only 12 yards?
Since coming to Washington in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, McLaurin has not only led Washington in receiving but has also gained 1,000 receiving yards in each of his last four NFL seasons (2020-23).
Thirty-nine receiving yards for Terry McLaurin? It’s not like the quarterback is injured and unable to throw. Jayden Daniels has completed 40 passes for 410 yards, which averages 20 completions for 205 passing yards a game.
McLaurin really showed himself to be a team leader in his days with the Commanders. But even more, he has arrived on stage at some of the big Washington games and had productive performances.
Interestingly enough, when rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels met with the press on Thursday, Daniels acknowledged McLaurin has been a team leader and that this team needs to get him the ball more often. Yet he surprisingly added the comment that if they didn’t, “we are going to keep playing our game, keep moving forward, and just go from there.”