Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Puka Nacua

Wednesday, September 10, 4:01 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was slow out of the gate in Week 1 against the Giants, catching two of his four targets for 27 yards. A slow start to the season could have been somewhat expected for McLaurin after limited practice time amidst his contract negotiations. The talk of a slow start could have been mitigated if he and Jayden Daniels were able to connect on a deep shot where McLaurin had his man beat badly on a double move. With the new acquisition, Deebo Samuel Sr. making his team debut, play caller Kliff Kingsbury made an emphasis to get Samuel involved, and he has established a good connection with Daniels after McLaurin missed a lot of time in training camp. A positive, at least for McLaurin, is that he did not face any restrictions regarding his snap count and routes. The star receiver started slow last season as he built rapport with Daniels, and should be expected to bounce back against an exploitable Green Bay secondary. McLaurin has faced the Packers three times in his career and has put up strong numbers, catching 16 of 27 targets for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He should be viewed as a mid-range WR2 with upside in a projected high-scoring Week 2 matchup against the Packers.

Sunday, September 14, 8:29 PM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua caught eight of his nine targets for 91 yards through the air. However, the young receiver's best play of the day was a 45-yard touchdown run that involved breaking several tackles and winning a foot race to the end zone. Nacua has now scored at least 23 fantasy points (PPR) in each of his two games so far, establishing himself as a top-tier wide receiver in fantasy football. It was impressive to see him continue to produce in a game like Sunday's, where he had a tougher matchup and played in a positive game script. The game script could flip next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, creating even more opportunities for Nacua to earn targets. He's a firm WR1 option going forward.