Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Justin Jefferson

Thursday, January 29, 6:46 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin signed a three-year, $96 million contract just before the start of the 2025 season and then had the worst season of his career in his seventh year in the NFL. McLaurin missed valuable time with injuries and played in a career-low 10 games, catching 38 of his 60 targets for 582 yards and three touchdowns. It broke a string of five straight 1,000-yard seasons from McLaurin, who was a third-round pick by Washington in 2019 out of Ohio State. It was indeed a scary year for McLaurin's fantasy managers. The 30-year-old veteran never had a 100-yard performance. It didn't help that starting quarterback Jayden Daniels only started seven games due to various injuries. With better health, McLaurin should be able to bounce back in 2026, but you shouldn't consider him a lock to return to 1,000 yards with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury no longer around.

Wednesday, January 28, 1:24 PM

Although Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the sixth straight season in the NFL in 2025, he was a massive disappointment for fantasy football managers. Jefferson was a top-10 fantasy selection in most fantasy drafts last year, but he finished as only the WR25 in half-PPR scoring. The difference in 2025 was his lack of chemistry with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who played in only 10 games due to injuries. When McCarthy was on the field, he didn't show much chemistry with Jefferson and was way too inconsistent accuracy-wise. Jefferson caught 84 passes, which was his lowest total in six seasons, other than when he had 68 receptions in an injury-plagued 2023 season. His two touchdowns and 1,048 receiving yards were both career lows. Jefferson remains an elite fantasy wideout talent-wise, but he's going to drop in the 2026 rankings a bit until he and McCarthy can develop a more consistent connection.