Terry McLaurin vs Bucky Irving

“While everyone had high hopes for McLaurin in 2025, injuries to him and Jayden Daniels ruined his season.”

“The Commanders are desperate for a second pass catcher behind Terry McLaurin”

“Round 6: Terry McLaurin (WR – WSH) The Commanders were a train wreck last season, and part of that was Terry McLaurin only playing 10 games.”

“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.”

“Round 4: Terry McLaurin (WR – WAS) Terry McLaurin was the counter-pick, sitting in an almost identical ADP range as Waddle. The preference here comes down to target-share ceiling: McLaurin’s worst-case target competition still leaves him with a strong floor, while his best case could push into the high-20s percentage range given how thin the target competition around him currently looks.”

“Terry McLaurin (WR – WSH) McLaurin’s 2025 season was derailed almost from the jump by a training camp holdout that eventually turned into a three-year, $96 million contract extension. That kind of disruption tends to torpedo a season, and it did here too.”

“Terry McLaurin is a favorite draft target in the fifth round based on ADP.”

“Both Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane are fighting for targets behind Terry McLaurin in the Commanders' receiver room.”

“Through the first six weeks, McLaurin averaged just 4.2 PPR points per game, topped 50 receiving yards only once, and seemed to spend almost as much time on the injury report as he did on the field.”

“Injuries also limited Terry McLaurin to 10 games.”

“McLaurin started the 2025 offseason as a holdout. Then, shortly after reaching a new deal with the Commanders, McLaurin sustained a quad injury in Week 3 and did not return fully until the Commanders' season was all but over in Week 13.”

“When healthy, McLaurin has been an extremely reliable WR2, posting consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2020 to 2024, yet averaged just 80 receptions each season despite being the first read in the offense. Even with Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz gone, Washington will look to spread the ball around to tertiary options.”

“If Bucky Irving struggles to stay healthy for the second consecutive season, Gainwell could have a career year”

“100 | (RB35) To be clear, Bucky Irving isn’t fading away despite a down season last year”

“It’s odd that so many people are forgetting just how good Irving was over a fairly large sample size of games over the second half of his rookie season. Buy the dip.”

“8 | Diff: +3 Over the last two seasons, with Bucky Irving in town, Rachaad White was a more effective per-touch player, but with Irving out of the lineup last year, he proved again that he can carry the mail (although while being horribly inefficient).”

“Bucky Irving ‘s rookie season was as impressive as they come, considering his draft capital (125th overall).”

“Bucky Irving was the only top-12 drafted RB to miss more than two games.”

“Bucky Irving finished as the RB13 his rookie year before slumping to an RB 34 playing 10 games the following season. More concerning than the games missed is his carries inside the 5-yard line in 2025: zero.”

“Bucky Irving checks all the boxes when it comes to identifying a true “buy low” player.”

“After finishing his rookie season as the RB13, averaging 14.4 PPR fantasy points per game, Bucky Irving regressed last year and struggled to stay healthy, missing seven contests. Furthermore, Irving had offseason shoulder surgery and might not be fully ready for training camp.”

“Irving finished dead last in that metric among qualifying running backs last season, which sounds damning, but he ranked sixth in the same metric in 2024. The difference is the offensive line: Tampa Bay’s line ranked second in adjusted line yards during Irving’s rookie season and collapsed to 22nd last year due to injuries.”

“Even before the injury that sidelined him, Irving averaged just 3.3 yards per carry while ranking 32nd in explosive yards, 45th in missed tackles forced per attempt and 33rd in runs for first downs at his position. With Tampa Bay deploying a full rotation of backs, it feels extremely hard to replicate.”

“You can't deny the value Bucky Irving provided us in 2024. He played all 17 games and finished as the RB13 in PPR scoring after entering the season as the RB52 in expert consensus rankings (ECR). Irving was electric, averaging 5.4 yards per carry while ranking fifth in explosive yards and fifth in missed tackles forced.”