Things are going to look a lot different for the Washington Commanders’ offense under new offensive coordinator David Blough, who already has an “unbelievable” change in store for go-to wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
He’s been effective enough to post five 1,000-yard seasons, mostly in a streamlined and rather predictable role, but McLaurin has revealed he’ll get to attack defenses in multiple new ways on Blough’s watch.
Speaking about how the new offense has functioned during OTAs, McLaurin focused on why his role is so different from what it was under Blough’s predecessor Kliff Kingsbury.
McLaurin pointed out “In Kliff’s system, it was more like outside receiver tree routes, which is fine for me, but just being able to move around is just an added benefit for our offense,” per ESPN’s John Keim.
Moving McLaurin around pre-snap to get him more targets is just one part of Blough’s plan. There’s much more to this change for Washington’s best receiver.
More Changes Are in Store for Terry McLaurin
The new McLaurin plan is about more than simply sending No. 17 in motion to make a defense’s pressure and coverage intent obvious. Even though this is still a significant shift after ‘Scary Terry’ “ran 73% of his routes while aligned wide left; he ran routes after going in motion only 17 times in two seasons,” when Kingsbury designed and called the plays, according to Keim.
GettyThings are changing in a big way for McLaurin and the Commanders’ offense without former play-caller Kliff Kingsbury.
He’ll be moved into different spots, but Blough is also demanding McLaurin makes several adjustments to the way he runs routes. McLaurin explained, “I can go left, right, I can go vertical because I can still run by you. Just having those type of variations in your route tree is just an unbelievable weapon to have as a receiver.”
These are big changes for McLaurin, who’s had a lot to digest and adjust to this offseason. It’s why his recent, unexplained watching brief at practice raised concerns.
Fortunately, McLaurin has mostly been fully up to speed and able to showcase a growing comfort with Blough’s schemes. The changes to McLaurin’s role are also showing up for the other key playmaker on the Commanders’ new-look offense.
Commanders Already Seeing Benefit of Changing Offense
Blough’s system is supposed to unlock a new level of brilliance for budding franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels. He’s being tasked to master challenging new concepts, but Daniels’ success will still ultimately hinge on his rapport with No. 1 receiver McLaurin.
It’s a good thing then Keim is already seeing the Commanders’ QB1 and his primary target re-establishing strong chemistry. So much so, even a missed connection, when McLaurin was wide open, but Daniels overthrew him, was greeted with excitement.
As McLaurin explained, “If I run the crosser and Jayden’s thinking I’m running vertical, he could throw that deep and it’s a pick. The excitement that I have is we saw it the first time we’re in it, and we see it the same right away. The next time it can be completely different, long as we’re on the same page, I know we can work on the completion part of it as we get more and more into this offense.”
McLaurin not being present during OTAs in 2025, amid a dispute about his contract, robbed Daniels of his chance to refine their connection. The subsequent litany of injuries suffered by the second-year signal-caller meant this duo still never really clicked once last season was underway.
Blough needs that to change in a hurry. His more nuanced offense depends on Daniels being able to find McLaurin more often, in more ways.
The early signs are positive quarterback and receiver are warming to the new way of doing things.
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