Quinshon Judkins
vs Terry McLaurin

““ Quinshon Judkins had a surprisingly solid performance last Thursday night against the Steelers, but I still don’t buy it. The Browns are winning, yet Judkins is still having a tough time getting going. The second-year back is averaging an abysmal 3.0 yards per carry this season and hasn’t topped 70 rushing yards in a game yet.”

“Judkins is averaging 0.64 yards before contact per rush, 33rd on that same list. He has been targeted on 24.3% of his routes (RB15) but has still run a route on only 35.6% of dropbacks (RB26), sharing passing duties with Raheim Sanders . Pittsburgh is 24th in expected points allowed per game to running backs , coming off allowing 69 total yards on 15 touches to Chase Brown on Sunday.”

“Judkins has a 68.3% snap rate with 53.3% of the rushing attempts, a 38.5% route share, and a 13.5% target share. He has handled all three of the Browns’ red zone rushing attempts this season. Unfortunately, he has been woefully inefficient with his workload, with zero explosive runs, 1.42 yards after contact per attempt, and an 8% missed tackle rate.”

“Quinshon Judkins is the Ballers consensus RB22 and can be benched if you have better options.”

“Quinshon Judkins has had 12 carries in each of his first two games and hasn’t had a run of 10 or more yards. He’s averaging 2.3 yards per carry behind a rebuilt Browns offensive line that ranks dead last in the run-blocking metric adjusted line yards. But Judkins gets a favorable home matchup against a Panthers defense that has given up the most rushing yards to RBs.”

“Quinshon Judkins is the RB33 in fantasy points per game, averaging 15.5 touches and 49 total yards per game.”

“Judkins is averaging 2.25 YPC on 24 carries (54 total yards), but he did have five receptions this week with Dylan Sampson out of the lineup. That may be enough to convince another owner that he is a true workhorse back and worthy of an RB2 trade. Maybe an opportunistic Chuba Hubbard owner would consider swapping for Judkins, knowing that the Browns are fully committed to him as their RB1?”

“McLaurin: Targets and share held roughly flat (27.0% adjusted → 28.1% adjusted), continuing as Washington’s clear passing-game priority — but for the second straight week, a real, meaningful gain of his was taken away by replay review (see Replay Reversal above).”

“Against two high, McLaurin has had a 24% target-per-route-run rate, but he has produced only 1.12 YPRR. Even if the coverage structure leaned in McLaurin’s favor, I wouldn’t expect much from him against a secondary that has allowed the fourth-fewest yards per target and fantasy points per target to perimeter wide receivers this season. Sit McLaurin this week, if possible.”

“Terry McLaurin has also struggled to start the season, but his outlook for the near future is not as bright as Jamo’s. Jayden Daniels ’ elbow injury makes McLaurin a shaky flex play until he returns. Carnell Tate might end up being a product of a bad situation with Cam Ward struggling so far, and he can stay on your bench until something changes.”

“Though he led the Commanders in targets (9) and receiving yards (50), McLaurin’s season-long outlook is concerning because of the rise of Stefon Diggs and the nasty, dislocated elbow injury Jayden Daniels suffered. We don’t yet have a timeline for how long Daniels will be out, but I expect this injury to cost him several weeks, and veteran Marcus Mariota will fill in his stead. The major thought I had going through this weekend: if McLaurin isn’t able to have a big game against the Dallas secondary, what will it take?”

“Going back to the Commanders’ offense, Terry McLaurin had a scary bad game for a 31-year-old receiver in the late stages of his career. He finished the afternoon with just two receptions on four targets for 14 receiving yards. He managed just an 11% target share and 0.40 yards per route run (YPRR), basically just running cardio the entire game.”

“Terry McLaurin (WR – WAS) Both Finish as Wide Receiver Twos The prediction: both receivers finish this season as at least a top-24 fantasy option. Diggs isn’t washed the way public perception might suggest. He averaged a respectable points-per-game clip last year and ranked top 10 in yards per route run among receivers with 100-plus routes, along with a 90th-percentile mark in targets per route run.”

“Terry McLaurin set career highs across the board in Jayden Daniels ‘ rookie season. If Daniels can stay healthy, McLaurin is set up for another big year.”

“Terry McLaurin is still the top target in the Commanders’ passing game. I expect them to be much more successful through the air with David Blough calling plays.”

“McLaurin is a target of mine because he doesn’t have much competition for targets of his. The Commanders’ passing game is essentially McLaurin and newly signed Stefon Diggs.”

“With Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz gone, only Antonio Williams and Chig Okonkwo were added to this receiving depth chart; McLaurin should return to his target hog WR2 ways in 2026. He’s a strong bounceback candidate.”