‘Help him as much as I can’ – Terry McLaurin explains why Commanders rookie is much more than people think going into 2025 season
Expectations for this rookie are high, and Terry McLaurin sees his potential.
The team really missed having All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin around during his contract dispute, and the Washington Commanders are already seeing the benefits of having him back on the field in more ways than one.
A lot of the WR room had to step up in his absence, and one rookie started to emerge, and McLaurin saw it as well. McLaurin had high praise for the young WR, and he’s going to do everything it takes to help him hit his potential and impact the team this season, including coaching him up on the practice field.
McLaurin expects an immediate impact
We’ve had high expectations for rookie WR Jaylin Lane as soon as he showed up to training camp, and he started making big plays right away. McLaurin was in the shadows watching the film from practice and the preseason games, and started to take notes on what stood out to him. He saw Lane’s skillset as something that could translate right away on the offense, and he made a point to bring it up during his first press conference back with the team.
“Jaylin Lane, I think, is a guy who’s really going to have a chance to help us,” McLaurin told the media. “He’s actually more physical at the top than people probably give him credit for, which is a key component of winning on the outside. Being an outside receiver and winning physically is important because you’re going to get a lot more press. So his ability just to continue to be hungry and be a sponge and ask all the questions, I’m going to continue to try to help him as much as I can.”
Lane did play primarily in the slot at Virginia Tech, but he’s also a lot bigger and stronger for his size at 5-foot-10 and 196lbs. We saw rep after rep at practice how he can put stress on defensive backs as an outside WR, and had one of the craziest plays I’ve seen at training camp when he Moss’d Quan Martin and Mike Sainristil in the corner of the endzone on a deep ball from the outside.
Leading by example
Having McLaurin back at practice helps the rest of the offense, of course, with his production, but he also wasted no time spending time coaching up Lane after drills and plays. Funny enough, Lane and McLaurin actually play very similarly, and it’s not just the 83 jersey that McLaurin wore in college. Giving tips to Lane can connect more with his style than it does with the other WRs because of the similarities.
Having Lane become a true impact player as a rookie will go a long ways not only this season, but the future as welll. We know that McLaurin and Noah Brown will be primarily outside WRs, but Lane’s alignment versatility allows offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to be creative with him and Deebo Samuel on the field at the same time.
The Commanders’ offense is poised to have possibly top-5 production in the league this season with Daniels at QB, and Lane can have a quicker impact than expected with his skillset and coaching from McLaurin. A top-5 offense will put them well in Super Bowl contention once again this season.
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