There are many reasons to be excited if you are a fan of the Washington Commanders. Two of the biggest reasons are wide receivers Terry McLaurin and rookie Jahan Dotson.
McLaurin signed a three-year extension with Washington earlier this month and is signed through 2025. Dotson, a first-round pick in April’s NFL draft, is under team control through the 2026 season.
After not working together in the spring, the pair traveled to California earlier this month to work out with and catch passes from quarterback Carson Wentz. McLaurin, a team captain, came away impressed with the quiet rookie from Penn State.
Now that the Commanders have begun training camp, McLaurin is ready to help Dotson as much as possible.
“My rookie year, I had the opportunity to learn from a lot of great veterans. I kind of had that at Ohio State as well,” McLaurin said. “When AGG [Antonio Gandy-Golden] was here as a rookie, I tried to take him under my wing and Johan as well.”
In McLaurin and Dotson, the Commanders have a chance to have their best wide receiver corps in years. The 2016 group led by Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson is the closest. That’s not even factoring in Curtis Samuel, who looks healthy and ready to have a massive 2022 season.
So how could McLaurin help Dotson?
“We all know we’re competitive and and want to make plays,” McLaurin said. “But if I can do anything that I can to share my wisdom, to share what I’ve learned from this game, to try to be infectious with my personality, with my confidence, with my competitiveness, I think that that breeds a stronger room. It breeds a healthy room to where guys know they could trust you. And you’re looking out for their best interests, knowing that we’re still competing and everything like that. But if there is any way I could help these guys, I’m going to do that.”
McLaurin, just like Jonathan Allen, gets it. In addition to being an outstanding player, he’s an ideal leader. He wants to be in Washington, and his goal is to lead the Commanders back to relevance.
As far as McLaurin being a mentor, he doesn’t need to say a word. Every rookie should follow him around and do everything he does. Every day, McLaurin’s new contract feels more and more like a bargain.