Fantasy Football Week 2 WR Preview: Terry McLaurin is a start on Thursday night, even with Taylor Heinicke

For Terry McLaurin, the downgrade from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Taylor Heinicke is a big one. But it’s nothing new for the third-year receiver, and you should start him anyway. McLaurin’s brief history against the Giants illustrates just how bad it’s been at quarterback for the Washington Football Team. And just how little it’s meant to his success

In his rookie year, McLaurin missed the team’s first game against the Giants, but put up 15.6 PPR Fantasy points late in the year, catching passes from both Dwayne Haskins and Case Keenum. In the team’s first meeting of 2020, McLaurin delivered 14.4 Fantasy points on 12 targets from Kyle Allen. Three weeks later he blew up for 24.5 PPR points in a game started by Allen, and finished by Alex Smith. 

So yes, Heinicke is a downgrade from Ryan Fitzpatrick. But I’m not sure he’s any worse than Haskins, Keenum, Allen, or the 2020 version of Smith. McLaurin should be just fine.

We’re a little less certain about the Giants top-two wide receivers, Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay. By the time the year is over, we expect Golladay to be the better Fantasy option, but Shepard was much better in Week 1 and has great chemistry with Daniel Jones. I prefer Shepard in PPR and Golladay in non, but the Washington pass rush could prevent Jones from holding on to the ball long enough to target either deep. 

The optimistic person would look at the great games Keenan Allen and Mike Williams had last week against this defense, but the Chargers did a great job protecting Justin Herbert in Week 1 and we do not expect the same type of protection for Jones. Still, I’d be comfortable with Shepard and Golladay as my No. 3 receiver or flex. But please, if you’re playing them in the flex, put them in a WR spot in your lineup to preserve lineup flexibility on Sunday. 

Here is the rest of the Week 2 WR Preview:

Week 2 WR Preview

The following players are not being projected to play Week 2 at this time. Here’s what it means:

• 52.2% — Deebo Samuel accounted for more than half of the 49ers targets in Week 1. Don’t expect a repeat of that, but he’s a definite start as long as Brandon Aiyuk is in the dog house.
• 199 — Air yards for D.J. Chark in Week 1. Only Tyreek Hill and Darren Waller had more. 
• 17.5 — CeeDee Lamb has averaged 17.5 PPR Fantasy points per game in five full games with Dak Prescott.
• 5.9 — Ben Roethlisberger’s intended air yards per attempt was actually lower in Week 1 than it was in 2020. If he struggles against the Raiders, I’ll be worried about all the Steelers wide receivers.
• 54.6% — The Falcons passed on 54.6% of their offensive plays despite a blowout loss. Last year Atlanta passed at a 64% rate in losses. If Arthur Smith stays run-heavy against Tampa Bay, it could be another disaster for the Falcons offense.
• 12 — Mike WIlliams saw 12 targets in Week 1, the most since Week 5 of the 2019 season. 
• 15% — No wide receiver on the Saints, Lions or Colts saw even 15% of their team’s targets.
• 3 — Robby Anderson saw just three targets in Week 1. That makes him tough to trust this week, even with the long touchdown he scored last week.