Fantasy Football Player Notes

Terry McLaurin has dealt with a history of sprains, strains, and putrid quarterback play that have limited our view of his true ceiling potential. Since 2019 McLaurin has endured two hamstring strains and two high ankle sprains that have only cost him three games but have drastically hindered his effectiveness at points. Since 2019 he's suffered catchable target rates that have ranked 70th, 77th, and 41st in the NFL. Carson Wentz might not be amazing, but if he continues the deep ball prowess that he flashed last season, McLaurin could offer fantasy managers high-end WR2 production. In 2021 Wentz was fourth in deep-ball accuracy, which pairs well with McLaurin, who was second in deep-ball targets last year.

Jahan Dotson should immediately start in two wide receiver sets opposite Terry McLaurin. Dotson's 90th percentile college dominator and 95th percentile target share while at Penn State illuminate the caliber of player he is. The Commanders' passing rate could cap Dotson's ceiling this year if the coaching staff comes to the same realization that the Colts did. That Carson Wentz is nothing more than a glorified game manager at this point in his career. As erratic as Wentz is, Dotson should enjoy an upgrade over the collegiate quarterback play he suffered through. The lone bright spot for Wentz is if Dotson can use his speed to get loose deep, Wentz should be able to hit him in stride. Wentz was fourth in deep-ball accuracy last season.

Curtis Samuel is coming off a lost season in which he dealt with groin and hamstring issues. Samuel could only gut out five games played and never saw more than 39% of snaps in any of them. Despite the team addressing the wide receiver depth chart with the selection of Jahan Dotson in the first round, Samuel still has a clear path to playing time as the starting slot wide receiver. Outside of health, the other looming question is how many receiving options can Carson Wentz support at this juncture. Samuel is a late-round dart throw only in redraft.