After starting the season on a remarkable tear and thrusting himself into fantasy football relevance, Washington Redskins rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin has regressed to the mean as of late.
It’s not by anything that he can control, but rather the offense that he plays in went 16-straight quarters without scoring a touchdown, and struggled to move the ball downfield. After scoring 93.8 points through the first five games of the season — an average of 18.8 ppg — McLaurin has totaled just 27.8 points in the four games since — an average of 6.9 ppg.
Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, it doesn’t look like this week’s game against the Detroit Lions is one in which he’ll prosper, either. With a head-to-head matchup against Detroit’s All-Pro cornerback, Darius Slay, there is a good chance that McLaurin is shadowed all afternoon, and he will likely be made a non-factor on offense. This is tough for both McLaurin and Dwayne Haskins, who will lose his No. 1 option on offense.
In order for the Redskins to get any offense going, they will likely need to rely on the running back duo coming out of the backfield, Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice. With his first career touchdown scored last week, Guice proved to be a great value for the few fantasy owners who were brave (or crazy) enough to start him, and if you’re feeling lucky, he might just do so again.
However, don’t start McLaurin this week and consider yourself brave. With a matchup against one of the best cover corners in the NFL, a move like that would be crazy.
