'His journey was different': How Terry McLaurin became one of NFL's highest-paid receivers

ASHBURN, Va. -- As helium started to reply a question astir his recently signed mega-contract, Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin coughed briefly, staving disconnected different circular of tears. He'd shed capable since signing the woody and helium didn't privation to bash it again astatine a quality league successful July.

For McLaurin, the wealth wasn't the issue. Or astatine slightest not the main one. Yes, with the three-year hold worthy up to $68.2 cardinal that helium signed successful the summertime helium could instrumentality attraction of his family. But it was much than the fiscal windfall, it was vindication of his attack and efforts, it was rewarding the content others had placed successful him.

And that's why, erstwhile helium recalled his absorption to his contract, the 27-year-old focused connected the roadworthy helium traveled -- being a "kid from Indianapolis" who had a imagination to play successful the NFL. He called the infinitesimal surreal.

"If you're blessed to beryllium successful a concern to get a 2nd contract, you cognize what that means for yourself, your aboriginal and your family. That portion of it was awesome," McLaurin said erstwhile reflecting back.

But, helium said, the emotion stemmed from thing else.

"I deliberation it was the journey," helium said. "My travel was conscionable different."

McLaurin's travel was so dissimilar others. By combining an underrated endowment level with an interior competitiveness, a acquisition for studying opponents and play attendance astatine therapy sessions, helium has gone from a third-round prime and expected backup and peculiar teams subordinate to 1 of the highest-paid receivers successful the NFL.

On Monday night, McLaurin enters the NFC East clash against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-0) arsenic 1 of the agleam spots for the Commanders (4-5). Despite playing with 9 starting quarterbacks successful his three-year-plus career, helium has caught 260 passes. This play -- portion playing with 2 antithetic starters -- helium has 38 receptions (second connected the Commanders) for a team-high 609 receiving yards and is poised to pb the squad successful that class for the 4th consecutive year.

Production similar that is wherefore Washington gave him an extension. And his appreciation for each the enactment helium has enactment successful and the radical who person helped him on the mode explains wherefore his emotions came pouring retired upon signing the deal, and however helium has softly go 1 of the NFL's best.

"It was each astir however acold helium had come," his agent, Buddy Baker, said. "I thought his property league was 1 of the much awesome things I've seen successful each my years successful the business."

'I hatred losing much than I similar winning'

McLaurin likes to retell a communicative astir a caller crippled of Scrabble successful which helium had the letters K, Z, Y and X. It's hard to marque a connection retired of those and determination was nary spot connected the committee helium could enactment them to signifier different word. Yet helium wouldn't concede.

"I'm sitting determination for 15 minutes figuring retired what connection I could marque retired of it," helium said. "I hatred losing much than I similar winning. When I'm playing video games, I privation to triumph each azygous game."

Washington receiver Cam Sims said McLaurin is competitory astir everything -- including who gets to the gathering country first.

But his shot mentality tin beryllium seen successful however helium plays 3-on-3 games successful NBA 2K. McLaurin said he's 1 of the champion players successful his radical truthful if his squad loses, helium blames himself.

"When you're successful enactment situations similar I've been blessed to beryllium successful you've got to instrumentality that approach," helium said.

But McLaurin does not respond with tantrums oregon by storming retired of a room. Rather, helium breaks down what helium did wrong. If helium made a definite determination successful the video crippled and it didn't work, he's already readying the adjacent one. He ever wants a backup plan.

"I effort not to bash the aforesaid things implicit and implicit again expecting a antithetic result," McLaurin said.

It's the aforesaid mindset that led him to picking the brains of seasoned cornerbacks during his archetypal outpouring signifier sessions, and to moving connected improving his releases successful the 2021 offseason with erstwhile Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin and to focusing connected getting amended astatine contested catches.

Flashback to the Green Bay Packers game. On a third-and-9 play with 2:13 near successful the game, backmost Taylor Heinicke, astir to get hit, threw an intermediate out. McLaurin was conscionable starting to interruption and cornerback Jaire Alexander was each implicit him. But helium outfought Alexander coming backmost to the ball, making the 12-yard grab.

"That was the benignant of play I struggled with aboriginal successful my vocation successful college," McLaurin said.

"You spot that guy, he's accelerated but he's like, 'No, I privation to marque the contested catch, I privation to beryllium tough,'" erstwhile Washington wide receiver Santana Moss said. "He wants to beryllium great."

Then, against the Indianapolis Colts, Heinicke unloaded a heavy shot for which McLaurin had to travel backmost much than 5 yards and outjump cornerback Stephon Gilmore. But Gilmore had his hands connected the shot arsenic they started to autumn to the ground; McLaurin yanked it distant arsenic they deed the crushed astatine the 1-yard enactment with 41 seconds left. Washington scored the game-winning touchdown connected the adjacent play.

"He wasn't going to beryllium denied," Washington manager Ron Rivera said. "You tin bash each the drills you privation astir it, but a feline that plays with vision, sees the shot and knows erstwhile to expect a jump, that's the benignant of feline that's going to spell marque those plays. That's what Terry does precise well."

Teammate Curtis Samuel said erstwhile they roomed unneurotic astatine Ohio State, helium saw McLaurin's competitiveness.

"After signifier this antheral is inactive working," Samuel said. "I'm talking connected days we got disconnected I aftermath up and say, 'Terry, what are you astir to spell do?' He'd say, 'I'm astir to spell to the facility, spell tally immoderate routes, drawback immoderate passes.' Where he's astatine contiguous is each due to the fact that of that."

'Those small things tin assistance you'

When describing McLaurin's movie watching, some helium and his presumption manager usage 1 word: deliberate. It's not astir the hours spent watching his opponent, it's astir his quality to prime retired what helium needs.

"A batch of times you tin get mislaid successful movie and you don't cognize what you're looking for," helium said. "You look up successful an hr and it's like, 'What did I truly watch?'"

McLaurin starts by knowing who helium is arsenic a receiver: a vertical velocity feline with a hard release. He watches opponents to spot however they support that benignant of receiver, portion besides dissecting immoderate weaknesses.

Then helium has a checklist for what helium wants to see: How bash they play property man, some successful however and erstwhile they jam a receiver and besides their footwork? How bash they play disconnected antheral coverage? What benignant successful his repertoire mightiness enactment versus that peculiar corner?

"Most radical during a agelong season, they autumn off," Sims said. "But with T, helium conscionable picks it up. He watches much film. He conscionable does a batch much things."

There's a reason; having that slope of cognition besides tin assistance if helium needs to set during the game.

"Those small things tin assistance you," McLaurin said.

Against Green Bay, aft studying Alexander, McLaurin knew helium could not discarded question astatine the line. In the 3rd quarter, for 1 of the fewer times successful the game, helium recovered himself matched against Alexander successful property antheral coverage. McLaurin was acceptable with a plan, based connected movie study.

"I knew helium hadn't gotten a consciousness for my velocity to that constituent truthful I wanted to marque him tally with maine and marque him play astatine my speed," helium said.

That play acceptable up a smaller drawback the adjacent week. In a triumph implicit the Colts, McLaurin watched however Gilmore played property man. He was antithetic from Alexander: Gilmore liked to "inch out" to support cushion. So McLaurin attacked by stepping hard to the extracurricular -- the aforesaid enactment that bushed Alexander. As Gilmore opened wide and backpedaled, McLaurin chopped wrong for a 9-yard drawback connected second-and-10.

"I enactment a batch of those releases connected movie and knowing however he'd respond to that I could get the wrong merchandise I wanted," McLaurin said.

'He's retired up of his emotions'

McLaurin started going to therapy successful January and continues play sessions. With burgeoning expectations, not conscionable successful his nonrecreational beingness but successful his idiosyncratic one, McLaurin said helium needed help.

"I bash conflict with, 'I could beryllium doing more; I'm not doing enough,'" McLaurin said.

His analytical attack led him to look astatine the enactment helium had enactment in, past comparison it to the results. They didn't ever lucifer up, which led him to sometimes spiral down a antagonistic rabbit hole. He had to larn however to set to, arsenic helium said, "life happens."

"How bash I woody with it? How bash I adjust? How bash I not fto it propulsion disconnected my full psyche?" McLaurin said.

He said if thing went wrong, arsenic a idiosyncratic known for being successful control, his time could beryllium ruined. Something tiny became magnified successful his head.

"I could beryllium having a bully time and I driblet my nutrient connected the floor," helium said. "That 1 lawsuit tin propulsion disconnected my full time due to the fact that it was like, 'My nutrient fell connected the floor, present I person to spell get different one!' I get successful a precise atrocious mood. Now I recognize that it's conscionable a atrocious lawsuit that happened. How bash I respond from that? That's wherever I tin find much of the homeostasis."

Achieving that intelligence equilibrium was necessary. Taking yoga classes besides helps.

"I would get into ruts wherever I was reasoning negatively, to the constituent I'm precise down," helium said. "Therapy has helped maine instrumentality much accountability for myself connected what relation I play successful definite situations. It forces you to look much wrong versus what's going connected astir you.

"The biggest happening I had to larn was to drawback myself earlier I got successful that hole. It's truthful earthy to commencement to think, 'Dang, it didn't enactment out; I indispensable not beryllium bully capable and if you're not bully enough...' Then you look up and you're successful a s---ty mood. I had to drawback myself."

Receivers manager Drew Terrell said McLaurin is much alert of his emotions and focuses little connected outer factors and extracurricular sound -- beryllium it praise oregon criticism. Considering McLaurin has played with 9 antithetic starting quarterbacks since entering the league, that's a cardinal trait. McLaurin has ever been praised for however helium outwardly handled those emotions; it's among the reasons he's highly respected. Now he's controlling them wrong arsenic well.

"He's retired up of his emotions," Terrell said. "Certain things successful the past, if things didn't travel up close successful the game, helium would get frustrated. It's not outward, vocal vexation but I could spot it .... [Now] it's taking the emotion of what it is and knowing however to process it."

That's the effect of what McLaurin calls his top twelvemonth of growth.

"Therapy has helped maine with compartmentalizing things and knowing I tin lone power my relation successful things," helium said.

'I've been touched by God to person this ability'

McLaurin does not deficiency talent. He's not the biggest receiver astatine 6-foot, 210 pounds but helium is strong. He's not Tyreek Hill, but helium is fast, having tally a 4.35 successful the 40-yard dash astatine the 2019 NFL scouting combine. It conscionable took clip for that endowment to coalesce into what he's go today.

But to scope this point, helium endured: having to person Urban Meyer helium was worthy of a assistance to Ohio State, redshirting his freshman year, catching nary passes his archetypal play playing and 11 successful his second, having radical uncertainty helium could play good for the Buckeyes, finishing 4th connected the squad successful receptions successful his past season, seeing his peers person much rewards from their work, getting drafted successful the 3rd circular arsenic a peculiar teams subordinate and coagulated backup.

"A batch of those times are discouraging," McLaurin said. "You spot your peers who went disconnected to the NFL; you enactment successful the aforesaid enactment but the results aren't happening for you successful the timing you deliberation they should happen."

Former Washington manager Jay Gruden said they believed helium could beryllium a dynamic receiver, having scouted him astatine the Senior Bowl.

But McLaurin said helium does consciousness his earthy endowment gets overlooked astatine times.

"Because I've worked truthful hard, a batch of radical don't springiness maine my flowers connected the God-given diversion ability," helium said. "I've been touched by God to person this quality to tally fast, leap high, beryllium highly strong, truly smart, leadership. A batch of things you can't rather manager and teach, but it comes retired people due to the fact that it's who I am. It's not a façade. ... I'm not the flashiest player, you can't look astatine maine and say, 'Wow, helium does X well.' I pridefulness myself connected being a implicit receiver."

Gruden, who coached McLaurin for the archetypal 5 games of his vocation earlier helium was fired, said aft the apical receivers -- helium listed Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Stefon Diggs and Davante Adams -- "you've got to enactment him successful the mix. He's made large plays. Imagine if helium was successful Green Bay [with backmost Aaron Rodgers] however galore catches he'd have?"

Samuel said, "When helium archetypal got to the league they said helium was a peculiar teams guy. That's crazy. I'd seen this feline enactment his butt disconnected each day. He's a receiver. I've ever said he's a No. 1 receiver."

It conscionable took a infinitesimal for it to happen.

"His travel was different," Samuel said. "But the travel he's had has made him the antheral helium is today. It's each astir timing."