Washington Football Team: Five biggest studs from the 2020 season
3. WR Terry McLaurin
The Washington Football Team was forced to start three different players at the quarterback spot during the regular season. They were Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, and Dwayne Haskins. Despite the constant shuffling at that spot, Terry McLaurin still posted a prolific season for Washington.
McLaurin was able to make 87 catches and total 1,118 yards on the year. He found the end-zone four times as well. As good as those numbers were, they could’ve been even better.
As mentioned, McLaurin played with three different quarterbacks during the regular season and for the most part, those passers struggled. Smith and Haskins both ranked bottom-five among qualified passers in passer rating this year. Allen was significantly better, but he only was on the field for 87 passes on the year, so McLaurin didn’t get to catch passes from him for very long.
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Meanwhile, McLaurin also dealt with an ankle injury at the end of the year that kept him out against the Panthers and caused him to be hit-or-miss in his final three games played. Before aggravating the injury, McLaurin was on pace for 100 catches and 1,401 yards on the season. So, if he stayed healthy, he could’ve posted even better numbers.
Beyond what he did as a pass-catcher, McLaurin was a key blocker at the receiver spot for Washington. He made numerous key plays in that area and the fact that he has mostly toughed it out through an ankle injury in must-win games demonstrates just how much he cares about winning.
McLaurin has proven to be a great, young leader for this team, and if Washington adds a legitimate starting quarterback in 2021, he could have a true breakout year. Either way, what he did in 2020 was impressive and his performance had no small impact on the Washington offense.