Fantasy Football Buy, Sell, or Hold: What to Do With Terry McLaurin After Week 3
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Terry McLaurin finally got on the board in Week 3. The Commanders veteran wide receiver scored a touchdown, with Marcus Mariota on the sending end. It is not true that Jayden Daniels' injury means worse output for McLaurin. In fact, he can be better, and McLaurin was better in the one game in which Mariota was the signal-caller.
The question I will now ask is: Should McLaurin be bought, sold, or held in fantasy football? The angle can be pulled either way, but the following proves the best way to act.
Terry McLaurin's Season to Date
Week 3 gave McLaurin his season-best game: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 77 yards, and 1 touchdown. He led all Commanders in routes run (31), four more than Stefon Diggs (27) and twelve more than Treylon Burks (19). The target share came to 31% for McLaurin.
This season, McLaurin now stands as the WR31 in fantasy football. In PPR formats, he is 0.9 points behind George Pickens and 0.7 points ahead of Jaylen Waddle.
Now, was McLaurin better or worse with Mariota?
In Week 2, McLaurin split his game between the two quarterbacks. In total, he had 9 targets, 2 receptions, and 50 yards. That split was quite even. McLaurin ran 39 plays for 4 targets with Daniels. He ran 34 plays with Mariota for another 4 targets. The other target came from Antonio Williams on a trick play.
In Week 1, McLaurin, of course, played fully with Daniels. He had 4 targets on 35 routes run. McLaurin ran 10 more routes than the next guy.
There is hardly any difference when playing with either quarterback. Here are the following comparisons over McLaurin's 22 games with Daniels and 6 games with Mariota:
- +0.27 Targets per Game with Daniels
- +0.19 Receptions per Game with Daniels
- +12.5 Yards per Game with Mariota
- +0.08 Touchdowns per Game with Mariota
- +3.63 Yards per Reception with Mariota
- +1.51 PPR Points per Game with Mariota
The margins are slim, but McLaurin is actually better with Mariota. Not only that, but the team does not suffer a huge falloff. In fact, the Commanders' best effort of the season came this past Sunday when they beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks 33-31.
Marcus Mariota with 3 Pass TD in a game for the first time since Week 8, 2022pic.twitter.com/TT2jFvRoJQ
— PFF (@PFF) September 27, 2026
Mariota finished as the QB12 in Week 3 fantasy football. He only threw for 181 yards, but he threw 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Now that we have settled that McLaurin's value takes basically zero hit, let's measure his ceiling. That figures into how good the Commanders' offense is.
The ESPN FPI ranks the Commanders' offense the 15th-best in the NFL. That is better than the Patriots, Panthers, Raiders, and the Chargers. The team is 23rd in Total Yards per Game, 27th in Passing Yards per Game, and T-13th in Points per Game. The unit is mediocre. Mediocre may be just fine for McLaurin, the team's WR1.
My latest projection goes through all season-to-date data as well as general expectations moving forward. It finds the following receiving yard share splits in Washington, D.C.
- Terry McLaurin: 34%
- Stefon Diggs: 25%
- Antonio Williams: 16%
- Rachaad White: 9%
- Treylon Burks 5%
- John Bates: 5%
Latest Jayden Daniels Injury Update
#Commanders Jayden Daniels - Suspect this ends up similar to ‘25, when he returned after ~3 wks
— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) September 25, 2026
Keep in mind this elbow may be prone to re-injury this season
Medical recommendation would typically be surgery, which may be considered after the season https://t.co/UVqLU1NwmJ
As was reported over the weekend, Daniels is opting not to undergo surgery for his dislocated elbow. No fracture was found. With the bone back in place, Daniels will need to rehab his way back. The general prognosis is that Daniels can return around Weeks 5-6.
Whether Daniels returns or not really doesn't affect McLaurin much. Given the earlier statistical analysis, it is a lateral switch between the two quarterbacks. If anything, McLaurin owners might prefer Daniels coming back because he offers higher long-term upside for the offense, more than anything, via his legs.
Daniels ran for 890 yards as a rookie, and through about a game and a half in 2026, he has already racked up another 87 rushing yards.
Commanders Upcoming Schedule
If you are especially looking to buy McLaurin, you probably need to win some games. Thus, we need McLaurin to perform. The best way to do that is by facing favorable coverage.
In Week 4, the Commanders get the Colts. Following are the Giants, 49ers, Eagles, and then the Rams. I have the Colts ranked as the NFL's 25th-best coverage, and the Giants are the 27th. The 49ers, Eagles, and Rams are all top-10 coverages. I would call this schedule average for McLaurin, but if he's being targeted, you want to take advantage of it in Week 4.
Buy, Sell, or Hold Terry McLaurin?
The preseason valuation on McLaurin was about WR24 via consensus ADP. I would say that his current value remains right around there.
I was higher on McLaurin than the consensus in Week 3, projected as the WR21 against Seattle. FantasyPros has McLaurin's rest-of-season ranking at WR27.
I would conclude that McLaurin is about right at the value that managers mostly expected to get. I do not think his upside is groundbreaking. I do not think he has a low floor either. McLaurin is not an overly desirable trade candidate. He should not be bought or sold unless an offer is sent that cannot be refused.
If looking for a more attractive option, I would look for a bargain or at least someone with higher upside.
Higher-upside players with similar current value include Ladd McConkey, Luther Burden III, and Josh Downs.
Final verdict: Hold Terry McLaurin.
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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.