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There was only one quarterback/wide receiver duo more potent than Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin of the Washington Commanders in the 2024 season. That duo was Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.
McLaurin, in his sixth NFL season, caught a career-high 13 touchdowns. Twelve of those touchdowns came from the right arm of Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In the playoffs, McLaurin added three more touchdown receptions from Daniels.
Burrow and Chase hooked up for 17 touchdowns in 2024. Dating back to their time together at LSU, Burrow and Chase have played together for seven seasons. The 2024 season was their sixth together. The 2024 season was the first that Daniels and McLaurin had ever played together, and they immediately developed into one of the best QB/WR duos in the NFL.
It's no coincidence that the Commanders had a breakthrough season in 2024, going 12-5, one year after finishing 4-13. And for the first time in his NFL career, McLaurin had a legit franchise quarterback throwing him the football.
Everyone was excited about their second year together in 2024. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. McLaurin missed most of the offseason and training camp, at odds with the Commanders over a contract extension. He agreed to a new deal two weeks before the season. In Week 2, Daniels suffered a knee injury, forcing him to miss Weeks 3 and 4. In Week 3, McLaurin suffered his own injury. He sustained a quad injury and missed one month. He returned for one game, scored a touchdown, and reaggravated the injury, missing another month.
Daniels and McLaurin were only on the field together for three games last season. In two of those games, Daniels departed with an injury. Those injuries explain why Washington went from 12 wins to five wins. So, while everyone is writing off Daniels as injury-prone and McLaurin as hitting the age-30 wall, the two are more motivated than ever ahead of 2026.
With Daniels and McLaurin healthy and participating together throughout the offseason, both in and away from Virginia, there's excitement about the duo for the upcoming season. John Daigle and Evan Silva of Establish the Run, believe the duo are on track for a "big bounce-back" in 2026.
"Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels are in for big bounce-back years," Daigle said. "We are only one season removed from this Commanders team going to the NFC Championship with the fifth-highest success rate and 5.5 yards per play, 10th in the league. Last year, when Deebo Samuel was injured, McLaurin was targeted on 30% of his routes. David Blough is suggesting more play action from play action. Jayden Daniels has averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, just 7.2 from shotgun."
Silva then chimed in.
"There's no real track record to draw on of David Blough calling plays in the NFK," Silva said. "But it does seem like he was quietly pissed off at what (former OC) Kliff Kingsbury was doing because David Blough was on the Commanders staff for the last two years as their assistant quarterbacks coach. The things that he has said publicly, he's like, everything is like anti what Kliff was doing, David Blough is saying all the right things and I sort of trust him to enact those things because they all make sense."
That's an interesting perspective from Silva. Blough played for Kingsbury, and he was the one who brought him to Washington in 2024. You could see the frustration from head coach Dan Quinn regarding Washington's offense. Quinn wanted the Commanders to run the ball more. Blough is expected to run a similar offense to what Ben Johnson runs with the Bears.
The play-action opportunities should take Daniels' game to another level. And, for McLaurin, Blough said back in February that his goal was to get McLaurin 10 targets per game.
If Daigle and Silva are correct, the Commanders should return to the playoffs in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Two Commanders are due for a 'big bounce-back' in 2026
Continue reading...
McLaurin, in his sixth NFL season, caught a career-high 13 touchdowns. Twelve of those touchdowns came from the right arm of Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In the playoffs, McLaurin added three more touchdown receptions from Daniels.
Burrow and Chase hooked up for 17 touchdowns in 2024. Dating back to their time together at LSU, Burrow and Chase have played together for seven seasons. The 2024 season was their sixth together. The 2024 season was the first that Daniels and McLaurin had ever played together, and they immediately developed into one of the best QB/WR duos in the NFL.
It's no coincidence that the Commanders had a breakthrough season in 2024, going 12-5, one year after finishing 4-13. And for the first time in his NFL career, McLaurin had a legit franchise quarterback throwing him the football.
Everyone was excited about their second year together in 2024. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. McLaurin missed most of the offseason and training camp, at odds with the Commanders over a contract extension. He agreed to a new deal two weeks before the season. In Week 2, Daniels suffered a knee injury, forcing him to miss Weeks 3 and 4. In Week 3, McLaurin suffered his own injury. He sustained a quad injury and missed one month. He returned for one game, scored a touchdown, and reaggravated the injury, missing another month.
Daniels and McLaurin were only on the field together for three games last season. In two of those games, Daniels departed with an injury. Those injuries explain why Washington went from 12 wins to five wins. So, while everyone is writing off Daniels as injury-prone and McLaurin as hitting the age-30 wall, the two are more motivated than ever ahead of 2026.
With Daniels and McLaurin healthy and participating together throughout the offseason, both in and away from Virginia, there's excitement about the duo for the upcoming season. John Daigle and Evan Silva of Establish the Run, believe the duo are on track for a "big bounce-back" in 2026.
"Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels are in for big bounce-back years," Daigle said. "We are only one season removed from this Commanders team going to the NFC Championship with the fifth-highest success rate and 5.5 yards per play, 10th in the league. Last year, when Deebo Samuel was injured, McLaurin was targeted on 30% of his routes. David Blough is suggesting more play action from play action. Jayden Daniels has averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, just 7.2 from shotgun."
Silva then chimed in.
"There's no real track record to draw on of David Blough calling plays in the NFK," Silva said. "But it does seem like he was quietly pissed off at what (former OC) Kliff Kingsbury was doing because David Blough was on the Commanders staff for the last two years as their assistant quarterbacks coach. The things that he has said publicly, he's like, everything is like anti what Kliff was doing, David Blough is saying all the right things and I sort of trust him to enact those things because they all make sense."
That's an interesting perspective from Silva. Blough played for Kingsbury, and he was the one who brought him to Washington in 2024. You could see the frustration from head coach Dan Quinn regarding Washington's offense. Quinn wanted the Commanders to run the ball more. Blough is expected to run a similar offense to what Ben Johnson runs with the Bears.
The play-action opportunities should take Daniels' game to another level. And, for McLaurin, Blough said back in February that his goal was to get McLaurin 10 targets per game.
If Daigle and Silva are correct, the Commanders should return to the playoffs in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Two Commanders are due for a 'big bounce-back' in 2026
Continue reading...
