Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or J.J. McCarthy

Thursday, December 4, 12:37 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been a disappointment for fantasy managers in 2025 while playing in just five games due to a nagging quad injury. The 30-year-old wideout aggravated his quad injury back in Week 8 and finally made his return in Sunday night's overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Despite a tough matchup with last year's Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Patrick Surtain, McLaurin had his best game of the season, catching seven of his 14 targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. He did it while playing just over half of the offensive snaps. It also came with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota running the offense. Three of his seven grabs went for over 15 yards, signaling that Scary Terry might be back when it matters the most in fantasy. McLaurin heads into another tough matchup on the road against the Vikings in Week 14 -- they've allowed the second-fewest half-PPR points to WRs this year -- but he has WR2 upside as Washington's clear WR1.

Friday, December 5, 3:48 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (concussion) is back in the lineup and facing one of the NFL's worst defenses in the Washington Commanders, but should be considered a volatile QB2 option for fantasy lineups. The second-year quarterback picked up two huge NFC North road wins earlier this season, but has once again missed significant time due to injuries and mostly struggled when available. McCarthy has 10 interceptions and a 54.1% completion percentage in his six starts, though Washington's defense has had its own issues. The Commanders have allowed scoring drives at the highest rate in the NFL and rank in the bottom five against fantasy quarterbacks, and McCarthy has shown flashes of mobility with 120 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries. Managers approaching the fantasy playoffs in Superflex formats will have to evaluate McCarthy against their other options, but there is some hope that a talented Minnesota offense can finally turn a corner against a bad defense at home.