Commanders' Terry McLaurin can't hide excitement over rookie wideout

The Washington Commanders are happy to have a healthy Terry McLaurin this summer. Last summer, McLaurin was at odds with the team over his contract, missed offseason work, and then held out at the start of training camp. While he ultimately landed a new contract, it came at a cost. McLaurin was injured in Week 3 and would miss a total of seven games last season.

It was a lost season for McLaurin. It was a lost season for the Commanders, finishing 5-12. McLaurin was back with the Commanders for the entire offseason program, looking more motivated than ever. He’s also been back at training camp, and head coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Jayden Daniels are among those who are happy to see him back in the fold.

“I don’t know if I can quantify it, but I know it, I can feel it,” Quinn said on Wednesday about McLaurin. “His interaction with his teammates, man, he is playing with joy. And it was so evident from the first practice; there was a sideline catch by Jeremy McNichols, just, like, as a running back, kept his feet and just a crazy catch on the sideline. And the first person down the sideline sprinting past everybody was Terry. I said, ‘That’s a player with joy.'”

While everyone is thrilled to have McLaurin’s talent back on the field, he’s so much more. The ultimate teammate, McLaurin has made it a habit to take younger players under his wing. This summer, he’s taken a keen interest in undrafted rookie Jaden Bradley from UNLV. The 6-foot-3 Bradley stood out during OTAs and the minicamp. And with Washington’s need at receiver, Bradley was a player to keep an eye on in training camp.

Earlier this week, McLaurin was seen giving Bradley feedback on the practice field. He was later asked about Bradley. He heaped praise on the undrafted rookie.

“I think he has a unique skillset where he’s a bigger receiver, but he moves very smoothly,” McLaurin said. “His releases are very smooth. He’s sudden in his releases. He has really good feet at the top. He kind of has a pro-like feel. For him, it’s just gonna be about detailing it, splits, timing. When you’re running down the field, keeping your shoulder close so you can track the ball over your shoulder. Red zone, it’s not as much space, so you gotta hold that defender off so you can give the quarterback more space to throw in that back corner of the end zone. Just little tidbits like that I try to pass along with him, but he’s a sponge, man. He’s been asking questions since he first got here and obviously he’s undrafted.”

That’s quite the scouting report from McLaurin. And the fact he’s so willing to help others at his position speaks to his character. He wasn’t done.

“I haven’t really had a guy who’s undrafted who’s just followed every single thing that not only I do, but what [WR] Dyami [Brown] does. You see him working out in the offseason. He was out with us in LA, so he’s just super hungry. And guys who tend to care that much about their craft tend to have success. He knows that he has the opportunity to try to earn a spot on this team, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to try to help him because he has a really good skill set.”

McLaurin was also extremely complimentary of third-round rookie receiver Antonio Williams, calling him a sponge.

It feels like the talk of Washington potentially signing Stefon Diggs is picking up. What could that mean for a promising undrafted free agent like Bradley? It will be interesting to follow Bradley’s progress throughout the summer and into the preseason.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders’ Terry McLaurin can’t hide excitement over rookie wideout