Commanders OTAs kicked off earlier in the week and Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin immediately got back to the groove that helped them take the league by storm in 2024.
Do you feel that? People following the Washington Commanders certainly do.
That would be the Jayden Daniels
-Terry McLaurin connection: it's back.
The Commanders' latest OTA session
featured a highlight-worthy play from Jayden Daniels to McLaurin and the duo looked as crisp as ever as the latter hauled it in and executed a perfect toe-tap on the sideline to complete the play:
The Jayden Dainels-Terry McLaurin connection was insanely strong for the Commanders back in 2024. It was a major catalyst behind the offense's ability to score 28.5 points per game and helped Daniels hit the ground running as a rookie.
If the Commanders want to bounce back from a dismal 2025 season, this is one of the developments that must come to fruition – plain and simple.
Below are the stats that were produced when Daniels targeted McLaurin in 2024, per Sumer Sports :
Receptions:70
Receiving yards:944
Yards per reception:13.5
Touchdowns:12
Yards per route run:9.08
EPA per dropback:0.55
Those numbers are pretty insane, especially the yards per route run and EPA totals. Just to put it in context: Anything over 2.0 yards per route run is considered good for receivers and most quarterbacks average 0.0 to 0.05 EPA per dropback.
McLaurin's YPRR is a whopping 454% above average and Jayden Daniels' EPA per dropback is 1,110% higher than the peak average of 0.05 for QBs.
Yea. That's explosiveness and efficiency to a tee. It's clear this is one of the most effective QB-WR combos in the NFL and it'll get a chance to get back on track in 2026.
That's the positive spin on last year's drop off, too. It's not like Daniels and McLaurin couldn't rekindle the magic. Both guys were hurt pretty much all throughout the season and played a total of three games together.
They should get right back to tormenting opposing defenses as long as both guys are healthy. It'll be fun to watch and the Commanders are hoping it can be the spark that gets them back to the postseason.
