At this point, McLaurin doesn’t bat an eye at the prospect of building chemistry with Howell or veteran Jacoby Brissett.
“Shoot, probably about year two or year three, you know what I mean?” he said Monday when asked about when he got used to playing with a new QB, via the team’s official transcript. “I kind of was like, it was a little bit of a turnover at the quarterback position, but at that point, I already had in my mind like I don’t use that as an excuse as to why I don’t do my job and I don’t use that as a crutch to be why I’m not making plays or, you know, there’s multiple quarterbacks. So I don’t want to use that as a hindrance as to what that is dictates my outcome and my performance. Obviously, we know that’s something that factors my position, but I’ve never used it as a crutch.”
Howell entered camp with a path to the QB1 gig in a battle with Brissett. So far, the second-year QB has impressed, particularly with his ability to stretch the field.
“With Sam, it’s been great so far,” McLaurin said of the young QB. “It was good to get a feel for him, obviously in the last game against Dallas. But as we’ve gone over the course of this offseason, we’ve thrown together, we’ve gotten some reps out here. I think one thing that strikes me with him is we have a nuanced connection. Even with Dyami (Brown), he just has a good feel of throwing the ball down the field and we really don’t have to talk about landmarks and putting air under the ball. He just has a really good feel of throwing the ball down the field and that’s a strength of my game.
“I know that’s a strength of a lot of our receiver’s games. I think that’s something that we’re looking forward to trying to put on the field this year is taking those shots down the field, but also being consistent in underneath routes and spacing the ball out and things like that. So, it’s been great so far and I’m excited to work with him and hopefully he’s gonna be our guy for the future.”
Surely during his first four years, McLaurin has thought similarly about other QBs. Remember last year, the offseason hype surrounding Wentz’s redemption? Yeah, that didn’t turn out too well.
The Commanders believe Howell owns a different makeup than the previous failed attempts to settle the position.