Commander Country

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin 'Exceptional' Against Zone Coverage

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin received strong marks for his work against zone coverage.

Tim Kelly

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Terry is particularly scary against zone coverage, apparently. 

Pro Football Focus recently unveiled which receivers graded out best against zone coverage during the 2022 season. Washington Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin received the sixth-highest grade, finishing with a mark of 84.8: 

"Out of these exceptional 10 receivers, McLaurin led them all with 16.1 yards per reception," PFF writes. "He has consistently won down the field in his time in Washington despite not having the best quarterback play. Another thing that just pops when watching McLaurin is his ability to play much bigger than his 6-foot stature. He brought in 68.4 percent of his contested catch opportunities in zone coverage, an impressive 13-of-19.

Notably, McLaurin was the only NFC East receiver to appear on this list. That's despite one of the league's elite duos in Philadelphia with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, along with the new duo of CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks in Dallas. 

McLaurin recently missed out on our SI/FanNation countdown of the NFL's 10-best receivers, but that was more indicative of how deep the position is currently than a diss of the 27-year-old. 

Despite dealing with a musical chairs situation at quarterback during his first four seasons in Washington, McLaurin has caught 299 passes for 4,281 yards and 21 touchdowns. Whether it's Sam Howell or someone obtained in the 2024 NFL Draft, it would be interesting to see just how productive McLaurin could be if he was playing with even a league average quarterback. It also wouldn't hurt if second-year receiver Jahan Dotson has a breakout season himself, helping to alleviate some of the pressure on McLaurin. 

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Tim Kelly
TIM KELLY

Tim Kelly is a contributor to SI's team sites. Additionally, Kelly covers the Philadelphia Phillies as the Editorial Director for PhilliesNation.com. Previously, Kelly has been a producer at SportsRadio 94 WIP and a content producer for Audacy Sports, with written content syndicated to WIP, WFAN, WEEI and some of the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Kelly also has previously written for SportsTalkPhilly.com and Section 215, FanSided's Philadelphia affiliate. Kelly is a 2018 graduate of Bloomsburg University, with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in political science. 

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