Terry McLaurin is an American football wide receiver and currently plies his trade in the NFL with the Washington Commanders. He was drafted by the Commanders in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft as the 76th overall pick.

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Who is Terry McLaurin?

Terry McLaurin was born on September 15, 1995, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He did his schooling at Cathedral High School there. Rated as a four-star recruit, he committed to Ohio State to play his collegiate football for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2014–2018. 

McLaurin redshirted his freshman year in 2014 and played just 6 games the following year as a redshirt freshman, in which he recorded 7 tackles and a fumble recovery. In his sophomore year, in 2016, Mclaurin played 13 games in which he recorded 11 receptions for 114 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. In his junior year, he once again played 13 games and recorded 29 receptions for 436 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns throughout the season. In 2018, the final year of his college career, he recorded 35 receptions for 701 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.

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After his performance in the NFL Combine prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, Mclaurin began to be regarded as one of the draft steals, and the Washington Commanders, who were then called the Washington Redskins, snapped him up in the 3rd round of the draft as the 76th overall selection. 

He hit the ground running in his first preseason and after impressing with his strong training camp performances, was handed his NFL debut in the season opener of the 2019 season against the Philadelphia Eagles. He made 5 receptions for 125 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown on his debut, and in both his next 2 games caught at least 5 passes and a touchdown, thus making him the first player in NFL history to achieve this feat in their first three NFL appearances. He finished his rookie season having started all the 14 games he played with 58 receptions for 919 yards and seven touchdowns, and this booked him a place in the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

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In his second season in the NFL, after the Commanders’ team captain suffered a season-ending injury in October 2020, McLaurin was voted by his teammates as the new captain. He would finish the season with 87 receptions for 1,118 yards and 4 touchdowns, in spite of the team’s unstable quarterback situation that season. 

On July 5, 2022, McLaurin signed a 3-year contract extension worth $71 million with the Commanders.