Terry McLaurin already proved he was the steal of the 2019 NFL Draft in his standout rookie season with the Redskins.
A third-round pick, McLaurin hauled in 58 catches for 919 yards and seven touchdowns, establishing himself as the top receiver on the roster while simultaneously setting fans' expectations for his career through the roof. They should go ahead and raise that bar even higher, writes Pro Football Focus analyst Austin Gayle.
Gayle uses PFF's statistic Yards Per Route Run (YPRR) to single out McLaurin as "one of the best ever recorded by a rookie wideout in the PFF era (2006-19)."
"Only 11 other rookie receivers have recorded a higher YPRR average across 300-plus routes than McLaurin (2.05) in the 14-year span," he writes. "And that figure gets only more impressive when considering his 20.3% target rate."
PFF has McLaurin ranked 14th in YPRR (2.05) among 93 receivers with at least 300 routes run in 2019.
"The biggest thing with Terry McLaurin, because there was a very good rookie receiver class this past year – A. J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf and obviously Terry McLaurin – but of them all, I think Terry McLaurin is set up to have the most success of this group," Gayle told The Sports Junkies Wednesday morning.
"Deebo Samuel and A.J. Brown are ranked first and second in yards after the catch per reception, something that has a ton of value in today's NFL and is very stable year over year," he said. "But separators that can win downfield on a high average-depth-per-target are where the NFL is right now.
"The Michael Thomases, Julio Joneses of the world averaged fewer yards after the catch than Terry McLaurin this past year, but they dominate at their position because they win routes downfield at the intermediate and deep levels of the football field."
"Terry McLaurin, with his speed, with his route-running ability, creates separation better in my opinion than the Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalfs of the world," Gayle continued. "He is that receiver you want pushing the ball downfield and being that kind of volume pass-catcher, demanding targets."
"Terry McLaurin is the type of receiver that earns targets at the next level," he said.
Spoiler Alert: Gayle expects Dwayne Haskins to target McLaurin a ton in their respective sophomore seasons.
"I expect him and Dwayne Haskins – his former college teammate, which doesn't get talked about enough – I think this year two, them playing together again, is gonna lead to a very productive season for McLaurin," he said. "You could see 110, 120-plus targets for this guy in 2020 and him having a ton of success on them."
For perspective, McLaurin was targeted 93 times in 2019. And if Gayle's right about his projections, McLaurin could move beyond his steal-of-the-draft characterization this fall, and push himself into the conversation of top receivers in the NFL.
