James Bradberry staying in NFC East is great news for Terry McLaurin

The Washington Commanders are hoping to challenge for the NFC East title next season after they finished third in the division with a 7-10 record in 2021.

Unfortunately, those aspirations will be tough to meet. While the Cowboys didn’t improve this offseason, they owned Washington last year. The Commanders also dropped both meetings against the Eagles, who are right up there in terms of putting together the best offseason of any team in the NFL.

After signing Haason Reddick and Kyzir White in free agency, adding star Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis with their first-round pick, trading for superstar receiver AJ Brown and getting a steal with Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, who fell to the end of the third round due to medical concerns, Philly, for all of its questions at quarterback, now has one of the most talented rosters in the NFC.

While winning the offseason means nothing in the grand scheme of things, the Eagles continued stealing headlines when they landed cornerback James Bradberry, a supposed Commanders target, after the Giants released him.

The signing gives Philly a scary CB duo with Slay and Bradberry, who both have lockdown potential. The move was regarded as a loss for Washington, but Terry McLaurin’s dominance of Bradberry over the years should flip the narrative.

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin should be thrilled that James Bradberry’s staying in the NFC East with the Eagles.

That’s right, folks. McLaurin had Bradberry’s number with the Giants. While it’s reasonable to assume McLaurin could be shadowed by Slay next season, Slay doesn’t always follow opposing top receivers around the field. Depending on the matchup, the Pro Bowler is normally tasked with covering one side of the field, leaving McLaurin and Bradberry open to rekindle their bromance.

Bradberry signed with the Giants before the 2020 season. Since then, he and McLaurin have played each other four times. Here are the Commanders star’s averages in those fixtures: 7.3 catches for 97.3 yards on 10.0 targets.

For added perspective, here’s McLaurin’s game log in that span.

• 7 catches for 74 yards on 12 targets
• 7 catches for 115 yards and a TD on 8 targets
• 11 catches for 107 yards and a TD on 14 targets
• 4 catches for 96 yards on 6 targets

It’s fair to assume not all of those stats came against Bradberry, but as the above highlight clip shows, at least one of the touchdowns did. The main takeaway, though, is that McLaurin has owned this matchup and Bradberry adding to what’s been an excellent Eagles offseason won’t scare the 26-year-old WR.

With McLaurin fresh off signing a three-year, $71 million extension with the Commanders, Bradberry should be terrified at the thought of lining up against his kryptonite next season even if he’s bailed out by Slay and only does so on a part-time basis because we all know who’s coming out on top in those battles.