Dan Quinn raves over Terry McLaurin's impact on, off the field for Commanders

As Dan Quinn begins the first year in charge of the Washington Commanders, he’s learned quickly that one of his biggest allies on, and off, the field is wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Wrapping up minicamp last week, Quinn discussed “Scary Terry” and the benefits of having him lead the offense and the team.

“I’d say, No. 1, there’s an incredible player there,” Quinn said. “For all of us here, we recognize how good of a player he is. But I wish that you guys could see the man that he is. He’s a hell of a ball player but behind the scenes, what he stands for, the professionalism that he has, the level of detail that he goes to to get things done, a team could be really well set to get a lot of Terry McLaurins.

“He’s been an excellent pro for us. As new players are here, he has great standards about him and that’s one of the best things about him professionally.”

McLaurin focuses on the details

In his short time in D.C., Quinn has seen McLaurin lock in on the little things. It’s the little things that he believes will help the already-elite receiver reach new heights. It’s an example he wants all his Commanders to learn from.

“I’ll give you one example because I showed it at a team meeting this morning,” Quinn shared. “After the catch was one of the things he wanted to get sharp enough to say, ‘Can I get more explosive plays by doing that?’ Then I saw at practice, all these deliberate moves, after the catch to go. There was a player that had a plan, and now he’s putting it into action, and we kind of know what the result is going to be. He will kick ass because of… ‘this is what I want to do and here’s the action I’m taking.’

“That showed me the example for the players that no matter how good you are, there’s a spot to go and get better. If you have a big gap to get better then it happens fast, but if you’re already an excellent player, the margins are smaller and you have to work your ass off to get that next spot.”

Entering his sixth season in the NFL, the former Ohio State Buckeyes star is four-for-five on 1,000-yard receiving seasons. If the Commanders find success in rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ first season, McLaurin will have a big hand in it.