As feared, Commanders WR Terry McLaurin will miss the rest of the season after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee in Monday night's loss to the 49ers. That leaves Washington without its leader in receiving yards and biggest downfield threat.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Opportunity Remains, but Little Excitement
Can we call it a slight positive that McLaurin doesn't currently lead the team in targets or receptions at least?
This is obviously a huge loss for an offense that needs to add talent, if anything. Stefon Diggs proceeds as Washington's leader in targets and catches but has become a short-range option in the late stage of his career (career-low 8.9 yards per catch so far this season).
Diggs actually trailed rookie WR Antonio Williams in routes against San Francisco, which sets a path for Williams to get meaningful usage the rest of the way. The rookie makes sense as a pickup this week, and his waiver price might get help from a Week 7 bye limiting the buying market.
Treylon Burks (27 routes) and Dyami Brown (24) trailed Williams (35) and Diggs (33), and don't carry much fantasy intrigue. Both are averaging fewer than 3 targets per week this season.
TE Chig Okonkwo is the other potential beneficiary. He matched Diggs' team lead with 7 targets against the 49ers and caught a team-high seven passes. Okonkwo also got a season-high 87.2% route share in the game.
Okonkwo also makes sense as a waiver target this week.
Injury Knocks QB's Value as Well
QB Jayden Daniels takes damage with McLaurin's injury. His 12.9-yard average depth of target this season easily led Washington's top group of pass catchers, while McLaurin has also paced the group in yards after catch per reception.
McLaurin and Daniels also connected for 13 TDs back in the QB's 2024 rookie campaign before both lost time to injuries last year.
Daniels now looks like a low-end QB1. We'll start to see after the Week 7 bye if he sinks lower than that.
Dynasty Impact: Injury + Age = Trouble
McLaurin will turn 32 around the start of next season, coming off a difficult rehab.
According to Spotrac, his dead-cap number also comes down by nearly $18 million in 2027 vs. this year. That could make the veteran a potential cap casualty, or at least motivate the team and player to try to re-work his deal.
McLaurin's age already pointed to him likely being near the end of his career, and this injury will obviously challenge his future effectiveness even further.
The veteran's not a "must" drop in dynasty leagues, but he might become a drop by the offseason.
