Who Should I Start? Tyler Boyd or Terry McLaurin

Tuesday, July 1, 12:16 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan that the team has had talks with free-agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd. It comes a day after Boyd said he's "absolutely" be interested in playing for the Steelers. It's unclear if a formal offer was made to Boyd, but the money that he's been offered around the league this offseason hasn't been in the neighborhood of what he's looking for. The Steelers acquired tight end Jonnu Smith in a trade on Monday with the Miami Dolphins, but they could still use additional receiver depth behind DK Metcalf. As things currently stand, Calvin Austin III is set for WR2 duties with Roman Wilson, Robert Woods, Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek also on the roster. After eight seasons with the Bengals, Boyd caught 39 passes for 390 yards and no touchdowns in 16 games (eight starts) for Tennessee in 2024.

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.