Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin hasn’t had the start to the 2026 season that he’d envisioned. In two games, McLaurin has four receptions for 64 yards. In the season-opening loss to the Eagles, he had only two receptions for 14 yards and didn’t catch his first pass until the fourth quarter.
In Week 2, the Commanders made a concerted effort to get McLaurin more involved. He had nine targets in Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys, but finished with only two receptions for 50 yards. If you watched the game, you’d know that McLaurin was very close to a huge game. He had a bogus offensive pass interference called on him in the first quarter. He had a touchdown catch taken off the board in the first half, had another potential touchdown go
off his hands, and in the second half, wide receiver Antonio Williams just missed a wide-open McLaurin in the end zone.
Pro Football Focus revealed a statistic this week that McLaurin’s catch rate of 30.8% is the lowest in the NFL through two weeks.
Given his start to the season and the fact that his quarterback, Jayden Daniels, suffered a dislocated left (non-throwing) elbow just before halftime in the loss at Dallas, it’s understandable that McLaurin would be concerned.
He's not.
“I mean, everything is not necessarily clicking, but that’s football, that happens,” McLaurin said after Thursday’s practice. “I’m just trying to focus on my process and practice. I know the plays will come; I’m not really too pressed, I’d say. Just trying to figure out how we can execute, and myself, just come down with some tough plays. You know, there’s going to be highs and lows, so I don’t really ride it too much.”
There’s no reason to worry about McLaurin. He’ll be fine. He’s been in position to make multiple big plays. While it's currently unknown how much time Daniels will miss, McLaurin and Marcus Mariota have played plenty of football together. In 2024, Mariota threw the game-winning touchdown to McLaurin to beat Dallas.
The Commanders have several problems, but McLaurin is not one of them.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Is Commanders' Terry McLaurin worried about his slow start?
