McLaurin: Carson Wentz Doesn’t Get Enough Credit for Toughness In Pocket

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is poised to start the 2022 season with his fourth different quarterback in as many years when he teams up with Carson Wentz this upcoming fall. Nevertheless, he sounds optimistic about building something special in the nation’s capital this year.

Meeting with the media on Wednesday after recently signing a three-year extension, worth up to $71 milllion with the franchise, McLaurin revealed that he was planning to fly out to California to work out with Wentz later this week. The 26-year-old wideout said that the two were in contact during McLaurin’s contract negotiations and have already started to build a bond off the field. 

Now the pair will focus on developing chemistry on the gridiron.

“One thing I think that’s stuck out about Carson, is just, he’s a very personable guy,” McLaurin said. “He’s somebody that, we’ve connected on a very personal level since he’s gotten here. And even throughout the process, he was reaching out to me, checking in on me. I was asking how practice was going and things like that. And that’s why I can’t wait to get out there and start throwing with him, because now we get to put the football together and we get to start to form that connection on the field. But personally, I’m really excited to see what he does.”

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McLaurin continued, explaining that he believes Wentz isn’t given enough credit for his ability to stand strong in the pocket and deliver the ball to his receivers. 

“And his toughness in the pocket, I don’t think a lot of people give him enough credit—he stands back there until the last moment, which really helps receivers get that extra separation or that time to finish their routes off,” McLaurin said. “A guy who’s back there and confident, as a receiver, and as a receiver group, I think we’re going to try to have a collective group by committee and help him out to be the best that he can.”

McLaurin will surely welcome a tough-nosed quarterback who can get him the ball in space. Through his first three seasons in the NFL, the former third-round pick out of Ohio State has 222 receptions for 3,090 yards and 16 touchdowns. In 2022, he broke the 1,000-yard barrier for a second straight year, catching 77 passes for 1,053 yards and five more scores.

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