McLaurin (hamstring) questionable for Week 4

McLaurin was a late addition to the injury report after tweaking his hamstring on Friday. He was initially expected to play through the issue, but things took a turn for the worse over the weekend. Stefon Diggs will operate as the team’s clear No. 1 receiver until McLaurin is back. Inactive for the Commanders are QB Jayden Daniels, RB Rachaad White, WR Luke McCaffrey, S Nick Cross, EDGE Javontae Jean-Baptiste, and OG Sam Cosmi.

McLaurin injured his hamstring at practice on Friday. While there was initially optimism he could play through the injury, McLaurin is now likely to miss the game against the Colts, according to Standig. Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams should serve as the Commanders’ top wide receivers with Marcus Mariota under center in Week 4.

That’s more like it. McLaurin connected on a 30-yard touchdown with Marcus Mariota and went over 50 yards for the first time in 2026. Most of his connections outside of that touchdown were for short yardage, but he and Mariota appeared to have quality chemistry and took advantage of some smaller Seattle defensive backs on slants. McLaurin offers volatility, but is in the WR2 conversation for Week 4 against the Colts in London.

It could have been a much bigger day for McLaurin, who had a 20-yard touchdown overturned after it was determined he did not maintain possession. In the third quarter, McLaurin broke free down the field for what would have been an easy touchdown on a trick play, but fellow receiver Antonio Williams underthrew him, ruining another scoring opportunity. McLaurin’s nine targets are a nice bump from the four he saw in Week 1 against the Eagles, and he was targeted 20-plus yards downfield four times. He continues to look like a volatile fantasy asset, with Stefon Diggs now in town. Diggs caught five passes for 47 yards and two scores in Sunday’s game. McLaurin will settle somewhere in the WR3 ranks for next week’s game against the Seahawks.

It was a forgettable first game of the season for McLaurin, who saw two of his four targets come on the Commanders’ final drive of the game. Those two targets resulted in his only two catches, as McLaurin picked up gains of eight and six yards on the drive, with his six-yard catch coming on a fourth-and-two. McLaurin and the Commanders faced stiff coverage from the Eagles all afternoon. Stefon Diggs, who joined the Commanders during training camp, led the way with nine targets and could prove to be a legitimate threat to McLaurin’s target share this season if today is any indication. It’s only one game, but McLaurin now totaled four or fewer targets in seven of his last 11 games dating back to last season. We expect him to have a more productive outing next week against the Cowboys, where he’ll profile as a fringe WR2/WR3.

In addition to Daniels, the Commanders are also expected to play Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs, giving us the first look at the team’s revamped passing game under new offensive coordinator David Blough, with most of its starters on the field. We wouldn’t expect Daniels and company to play more than a series or two, but this will be Daniels’ first game since Week 14 of last season.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter later added that the deal is worth “up to” $12 million over one year. Diggs has been tied to the Commanders by local and national reporters for weeks. After seeing their lack of receiving weapons in training camp for a few days, GM Adam Peters finally pulled the trigger. Diggs will immediately slot in as the team’s No. 2 receiver, ahead of Antonio Williams and a cast of uninteresting veterans. The Pats limited Diggs to a 68 percent route rate last year, but he still managed to hit 1,000 yards via impressive efficiency marks. With Terry McLaurin operating as the Commanders’ No. 1 receiver, Diggs is unlikely to hit four digits again, but he should still offer fantasy managers usable FLEX numbers on a weekly basis.

Unlike in recent seasons, McLaurin won’t line up strictly on the left boundary in Washington OC David Blough’s system, Jhabvala said. “I think the multitude of formations and route combinations is going to give all of us flexibility to move around the formation, keep the defense on their toes and have a lot of routes that may look similar at the stem but different at the top,” McLaurin said. “Just having those types of variations in your route tree is just an unbelievable weapon to have as a receiver.” Entering his eighth NFL season and coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign in which he had 38 receptions over ten games, McLaurin will look to bounce back as Washington’s clear-cut No. 1 wideout this season. Before 2025, he had six straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and scored a career high 13 touchdowns in 2024 during Jayden Daniels’ rookie year.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk obviously comes to mind, and multiple team sources tell Keim that the Commanders are “well aware” of Aiyuk’s “desire” to be reunited with his former college quarterback, Jayden Daniels, but Keim believes the Commanders are unlikely to trade for him. If Aiyuk were to be released, Keim thinks only a one-year, prove-it deal would be offered. Keim follows the Aiyuk section by saying the Commanders could also draft a receiver. Perhaps the team is negotiating through the media. Perhaps not. Hopefully, things will become clearer in the coming weeks and months. Keim adds that the front office would have pursued Colts WR Alec Pierce had he not re-signed with Indianapolis and, per Keim, Pierce “absolutely” would have signed with Washington in that scenario. The Commanders also pursued former Packers WR Romeo Doubs but lost out to the Patriots.

Blough is taking over as offensive coordinator after the Commanders fired Kliff Kingsbury. His first order of business will be to revive the passing game that thrived in 2024 and flopped in 2025. McLaurin probably won’t average 10 opportunities per game in the literal sense. His career-high in targets per game is 8.9. Still, it’s good to see Blough committed to getting the ball in the hands of his team’s best pass-catcher, even if he’s fudging the numbers a little. McLaurin missed most of the offseason last year in search of a new contract and couldn’t stay healthy when he finally rejoined the team. He appeared in just 10 games and posted a 38/582/3 receiving line on the year. Health permitting, McLaurin should return to the WR2 ranks in 2026.