In signing Terry McLaurin to an extension, General Manager Adam Peters admitted the decision took in more than just what the wide receiver can do for the Washington Commanders on the field.
The seventh-year receiver has also taken on a mentor role and become someone that rookie wide receiver Jaylin Lane can lean on.
"As good as he is on the field, he's a better person off the field," Lane said of McLaurin. "He's just real easy to talk to, he's coaching me up all the time so I'm loving it. I'm just trying to be a sponge."
A teaching moment from McLaurin happened during Thursday's practice when the two were paired up for a drill. In the exercise, McLaurin ran parallel to Lane up the sideline acting as a defender to simulate a sideline catch under coverage. When the pass fell through Lane's hands on his initial run, McLaurin spent time chatting with Lane and seemingly explaining a better way to approach the next run.
After practice, Lane followed McLaurin's lead in taking extra reps on the jugs machine and soaking in any knowledge he can glean from the veteran. The relationship between the two clearly isn't one-sided -- McLaurin went out of his way to praise the rookie wide receiver during his press conference Wednesday afternoon, citing him as a player to watch this season.
"Jaylin Lane, I think is a guy who's really going to have a chance to help us, not just within the return game, his dynamic ability, but some people may think he's just in the slot," McLaurin said Wednesday. "And to be honest, I saw his film; he has a lot of plays at the slot, but I've watched not only preseason. I've watched practice, and he can play on the outside, his speed, his ability to get vertical.
"He's actually more physical at the top than people probably give him credit for, which is a key component of winning on the outside," McLaurin added. "As an outside receiver, winning physically is important because you're going to get a lot more press and so his ability just to continue to be hungry and be a sponge and ask all the questions, I'm going to continue to try to help him as much as I can along with Luke [McCaffrey], Ja'Corey [Brooks], Jacoby [Jones]. Chris Moore is a great guy in our room. Just all the guys we have in our room are amazing."
While Lane stands out primarily for his role on special teams as a punt returner, the fourth-round rookie is also a dynamic receiver. Over the course of his three preseason outings, Lane notched three receptions off seven targets for a total of 42 yards and averaged a first down per completion.
Having played on both the outside and the slot positions at different points in college, Lane's versatility on offense is something McLaurin sees as a largely overlooked strength in the Commanders' offense this season.
As the team ramps up for their Week 1 game hosting the division rival New York Giants, Lane is still focused on stacking reps and getting better each practice.
"We haven't really talked about it because my main focus is on the next practice really," Lane said of his emotions toward playing in the regular season. "We're about to get into game week and then that's when I'll really start ramping that up. Throughout training camp, I wasn't trying to look too far ahead. Just focus on the day-by-day so I can get better."
If the rookie jitters do hit, however, he knows he can rely on McLaurin to help him through it.
