Terry McLaurin WR Says He's Inspired By Pair of Texans Legends
Growing up in Indianapolis, Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin saw quite a bit of AFC South football. So it's not surprising that two of the wideouts he's most inspired by spent the bulk of their careers playing in the same division as his hometown Colts as members of the Houston Texans.
McLaurin -- who has 4,281 receiving yards across four NFL seasons -- says he's drawn inspiration from Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.
"[Houston Texans WR] Andre Johnson, [Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins] DHop who's still doing it at a high level," McLaurin said when naming people he looks up to. "Those are two guys off the top of my head where they were consistent no matter who was throwing them the ball. And I think that mentality starts with their mentality."
Johnson was selected No. 3 overall by the Texans in the 2003 NFL Draft out of Miami. He would spend the first 12 seasons of his career with the Texans, a period in which he made seven Pro Bowl appearances and was a two-time All-Pro.
Johnson spent individual seasons with the Colts and Tennessee Titans before his career concluded, so the entirety of his career came in the AFC South. While he's not yet been elected to the Hall of Fame, Johnson finished his career with over 14,000 receiving yards, so it's likely just a matter of when he has a bust in Canton.
Meanwhile, Hopkins is back in the AFC South, having signed a two-year/$26 million deal to join the Titans, a pact that guarantees him just shy of $11 million. Hopkins, of course, also began his career in Houston, being selected as an All-Pro in each of his final three seasons with the Texans.
Hopkins spent the last three seasons playing with the Arizona Cardinals. Now 31, Hopkins has 11,298 receiving yards across 10 NFL campaigns. Hopkins once seemed on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but will now need to find a second wind in his career to get back on that path. Regardless, he's been one of this era's best wideouts.
From a production standpoint, Johnson and Hopkins are two excellent receivers to look up to. Then again, the best quarterback that Johnson played with at his peak was probably Matt Schaub.
Hopkins had initial success with Kyler Murray, but almost always has overachieved given who was throwing him the ball. McLaurin ought to hope that the lack of quarterback stability that Washington has had in his first four seasons isn't indicative of how his entire career will be.
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