Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Spencer Rattler

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.

Monday, September 15, 12:47 AM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 25 of 34 pass attempts for 207 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Sunday's Week 2 contest against the San Francisco 49ers. He also took three sacks and rushed for 14 yards. While Rattler finished with relatively modest passing yardage, his three touchdowns kept the Saints in the game against San Francisco and also resulted in a very solid fantasy performance. It's evident that New Orleans will be playing from behind in plenty of games this year, but Rattler is still able to play clean football and keep New Orleans competitive for a full 60 minutes. These two factors, along with his clearly demonstrated ability to throw for touchdowns, makes him a very intriguing waiver wire option. Fantasy managers dealing with injuries or underwhelming production at the quarterback position should feel inclined to place a claim or bid on Rattler, especially ahead of his Week 3 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, who have allowed 421 passing yards and four total touchdowns to quarterbacks over the last two weeks combined.