Fantasy Football Week 16 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Terry McLaurin vs DeVonta Smith
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Today, we are going to look at some premier Wide Receivers in the National Football League. Terry McLaurin is a consensus Top-15 purely talented Wide Receiver in the NFL. Does he have game-winning upside in Week 16? DeVonta Smith is also a consensus Top-15 Wide Receiver in the NFL. Does he also have week-winning upside? Let us break it all down for you.
The Case for Terry McLaurin
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 16 Ranking: WR22
Terry McLaurin wants to win football games. Period.
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) December 17, 2025
Great stuff here from the Commanders WR...including a perfect Denzel Washington reference. pic.twitter.com/N22Yv3W66p
McLaurin has played just 7 Games for the Commanders this season. In that time, McLaurin is averaging (6.4) Targets, (3.7) Receptions, and (58) Yards per Game, on top of (3) Touchdowns. McLaurin is the WR25 in Points per Game.
The Commanders will be taking on the Eagles on Saturday night. The Eagles are 5th best versus Wide Receivers, allowing (6) Touchdowns all year long.
Washington is going to be without Jayden Daniels, but Mariota has filled in okay. He is averaging over (200) Yards per Game, nearly 30% of which McLaurin commands himself. He will face off against a tough team, but he will look to meet his WR1 upside. McLaurin is a start given his volume, but with reduced expectations.
The Case for DeVonta Smith
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 16 Ranking: WR20
Another look at that DeVonta Smith TD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/peg5Oa0Kz5
— NFL (@NFL) November 11, 2025
Smith has played all 14 Games for the Eagles this season. Smith has 95 Targets (26% Target Share), 66 Receptions, 889 Yards, and 3 Touchdowns. Smith is the WR32 in Points per Game.
Clearly, touchdowns tend to be a lacking statistic for Smith. The Eagles are run-heavy and when they throw the ball, it goes to Brown in the endzone. He has (7) Touchdowns, as Goedert also has (9) Touchdowns. Smith has 14% of Receiving Touchdowns on the team. He is a volume player, better in PPR formats.
The Eagles will face the Commanders this week. They are 27th versus the Wide Receiver. There is definitely good chance that the Eagles get up and go run-heavy in the second half, so that will surely limit the upside of Smith. Nonetheless, he is a must-start given his target share in a great matchup.
Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Terry McLaurin vs DeVonta Smith
When we first consider volume, these two players matchup similarly. McLaurin has a slight edge in Receptions per Game as Smith lies just below (6.0), and McLaurin sits at (6.4).
In the game script here, McLaurin will also favor. The Eagles are (7.0) point favorites, likely to go run-heavy later in the game. McLaurin will chase, thus increasing his volume further.
In the Red Zone, McLaurin paces for about a 30% Target Share, if he played all 14 Games. As for Smith, he has a 21% Red Zone Target Shate.
When we jumble this all together to a final verdict, it shows that the volume that is projected for McLaurin is likely to trump his worse matchup.
Start Terry McLaurin for a much higher-volume projection.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.