Terry McLaurin
vs Bucky Irving

“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.”

“Bucky Irving has been Tampa Bay’s clear RB1 to start the season, out-carrying Kenny Gainwell by 15 carries last week and running 10 more routes.”

“The results have been just OK, but Bucky Irving’s usage has been incredibly exciting so far this season. He has played 71% of Tampa Bay’s snaps, handled 78% of their running back carries and seen an 18% target share on a 57% route participation rate. Kenneth Gainwell is barely relevant, and Sean Tucker didn’t play a single snap in his season debut on Sunday.”

“Minnesota Vikings Bucky Irving has played well through two games, averaging 5.36 yards per carry. He’s got a little extra pep in his step, ranking eighth in explosive yards, 11th in yards after contact per attempt and 17th in missed tackles per attempt, according to the Fantasy Points Data Suite. The Vikings pose the stiffest test for Irving, as they have yet to allow a rushing touchdown and have allowed only 14.2 fantasy points per game to running backs.”

“Looking at the Buccaneers backfield, Bucky Irving was not usurped by any means by Kenneth Gainwell . In fact, Bucky saw 32% of Tampa Bay’s total rush attempts and targets on the day. Anything above 30% is an elite workload according to our “work” metrics on our site.”

“Bucky Irving finished the game with 35 snaps to 26 for Gainwell, but that wasn’t all; every other opportunity metric tilted towards Irving, including one surprising one. Bucky finished with 22 routes, seven targets, and eight carries, while Gainwell ran only thirteen routes and finished with one target and five carries. The routes are a huge development for Bucky Irving, because those routes were where Gainwell was supposed to make hay this season, and where he was supposed to take from Irving.”

“Bucky Irving has dealt with a number of injuries in his short career with a foot sprain and a shoulder/ AC joint sprain last year.”

“It was only one of two games where Rice failed to score double-digit fantasy points in 2025.” – Mike Fanelli ( FantasyPros ) Bucky Irving (RB – TB) “ Bucky Irving is a good player, but the opener on the road in Cincinnati seems daunting.”

“Bucky Irving had a sophomore season to forget.”