Terry McLaurin has played with 13 different starting quarterbacks in his six-year NFL career.
In each season of his career, he has had a different Week 1 starter throwing him the ball. Now that the carousel of quarterbacks has seemed to stop with Jayden Daniels now under center in Washington, let’s look back and rank every person McLaurin has caught a pass from. This list will only rank based on their time in Washington.
Honorable Mention: Logan Thomas
Not a quarterback, but tight end Logan Thomas on Thanksgiving 2020 received a reversal from Alex Smith and threw McLaurin a 28-yard completion.
Thomas is a former quarterback dating back to his days at Virginia Tech. He was the Hokies starting quarterback from 2011-2013, before switching to tight end at the professional level.
13. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s days were limited in Washington. He only completed three drives for the then-Washington Football Team in Week 1 against the Chargers before getting injured. He did not even attempt a pass to McLaurin in that game.
That was the last game of his journeyman career before becoming a Thursday Night Football commentator on Amazon Prime.
His final stat line in Washington was 3/6 for 13 yards.
12. Garrett Gilbert
Like Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert only played in one game for Washington. He appeared in a Thursday Night Football game due to a COVID-19 outbreak that sidelined Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen.
Gilbert played fine in that game, given the last-second notice he received. He completed 20/31 for 194 yards with zero touchdowns in a 27-17 loss to the Eagles.
11. Colt McCoy
Colt McCoy only ever played one game with McLaurin in a 33-7 blowout loss to the Patriots in 2019. McCoy was the long-time backup in Washington, mostly before McLaurin’s time.
McCoy, replacing an injured Keenum, was 18/27 for 122 yards and one interception. McLaurin caught three balls for 51 yards.
10. Kyle Allen
Allen’s time in Washington was limited since he has been a career backup. However, in his time in Washington, he flashed some brilliance, including a 52-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin against All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs in 2020.
9. Dwayne Haskins
If this list accounted for their time together at Ohio State, Dwayne Haskins would be much higher on this list. Unfortunately, Haskins could not repeat the success he had for the Buckeyes before tragically passing away in 2022. He did have some exciting throws to McLaurin, including a one-handed touchdown pass against the Packers in 2019.
8. Jacoby Brissett
Jacoby Brissett only spent the 2023 season in Washington, backing up Sam Howell. Brissett was a solid backup for the Commanders, not making too many mistakes when called upon, and was a veteran leader for a young Howell to look up to.
He finished 2023 with a stat line of:
- 18/23 completions
- 224 passing yards
- 3 touchdowns
- 0 interceptions
7. Carson Wentz
Carson Wentz was traded from the Colts to the Commanders in the summer of 2022. The hope was for Wentz to return to his MVP-like form in Philadelphia. He started that season very strong, throwing four touchdowns against the Jaguars, including one to McLaurin.
However, the rest of the season was very rough as he was ultimately benched for Taylor Heinicke.
6. Case Keenum
Case Keenum helped introduce the world to the star that is Terry McLaurin, as Keenum started the very first game of McLaurin’s career.
It was quite the introduction as McLaurin caught five balls for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Keenum’s time in Washington was odd, as fans did not want to see Keenum play with a rookie Haskins waiting. However, Keenum threw for 11 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
5. Alex Smith
Alex Smith’s comeback story was nothing short of inspirational. After experiencing one of the most gruesome leg injuries in NFL history, he returned in 2020 and helped Washington clinch the NFC East title. While his play was nowhere near the level it was before his injury, he still played solid enough to win enough games to secure the division.
4. Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota joined the Commanders last season, and while his time on the field was limited, his impact was felt. The leadership he provided to help a rookie Daniels could never be measured.
When he played, he was outstanding. After Daniels got hurt early against the Panthers, Mariota led Washington to a dominating 40-7 victory. After Daniels was benched in the final game of the season against Dallas, Mariota led a comeback victory, including a last-second touchdown pass to McLaurin, guaranteeing the sixth seed in the NFC.
3. Sam Howell
Sam Howell is an interesting case for this list, as the peaks for Howell were very high. In the season he started for Washington, he led the league in passing yards for a large portion of the season.
On the flip side, he threw the most interceptions that year, being picked off 21 times.
The fans certainly enjoyed Howell’s carefree play style, but ultimately, he could not stay much longer since Washington used the second pick in the draft to get Daniels.
2. Taylor Heinicke
When Heinicke trotted onto the field, fans knew they would get his all. From being an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion to a career backup, he was able to rise to the occasion in the 2020 Wild Card round, almost beating the soon-to-be Super Bowl champion Buccaneers when nobody even knew Heinicke’s name.
The Heinicke-led teams were certainly fun to watch, but his lack of arm strength really limited the offense.
1. Jayden Daniels
Was there a question about who was going to be first?
Daniels was the first quarterback in McLaurin’s tenure when fans realized that he would be in Washington for the long haul. Their connection was so apparent that McLaurin caught a career-high 13 touchdowns.
The 2024 season was full of electric Daniels to McLaurin catches, but the first one where fans knew there was something special brewing was on Monday Night Football against the Bengals.
