Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Tetairoa McMillan

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.

Saturday, September 13, 5:46 AM

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan led the Panthers with 68 receiving yards and five receptions on nine targets in their Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Considering the poor play of quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers' offense as a whole, McMillan's fantasy output in PPR leagues wasn't terrible (11.8 PPR points). However, if you roster McMillan in fantasy, you likely need him to produce WR2 numbers, which he didn't quite do in Week 1. Heading into Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, McMillan will once again have opportunities, as he was on the field for 83% of the Panthers' offensive plays in Week 1, leading all Panthers wideouts. The question is whether the Panthers' offensive line can give Young enough time to get the ball downfield for big plays to the big-bodied McMillan. If Young can improve in Week 2, it is expected that McMillan will outscore his Week 1 total. McMillan is a solid WR3/Flex option with WR2 upside heading into Week 2 against Arizona.