Dwayne Haskins, Terry McLaurin Fantasy Outlook After Redskins Bench Case Keenum

Washington finally made the move many fans have been clamoring for since the season began—they benched Case Keenum during Sunday's NFC East showdown against the New York Giants, turning to rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

The question for fantasy players is whether Haskins will be a viable starter for fantasy teams going forward. And how will he affect players like wide receiver Terry McLaurin?

The first question is a bit simpler to answer. In general, rookie quarterbacks are extremely risky fantasy options, especially if they don't offer major value on the ground like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen did last season. 

Haskins is a good athlete, but he's never been an elite runner. In two years and 22 games at Ohio State, he rushed for 194 yards and four scores. That isn't the sort of production you can rely on. 

Another factor to consider—per multiple reports before the switch was made, Washington didn't feel as though Haskins was ready to take over as the starting quarterback:

This may be less of a case of Washington wanting to move to Haskins, and more a case of Keenum simply being too poor to start.

So keep an eye on Haskins, but for now, there's no real need to roster him. There are simply safer options out there on better offenses who aren't rookies learning the ropes. If Haskins continuously produces, he'll obviously enter the fantasy conversation, but for now, treat him as a QB3. 

It's much harder to project how this will affect McLaurin. On one hand, Keenum isn't very good and if Haskins is the upgrade many people believe he'll be, it should positively impact the rookie wideout. On the other hand, McLaurin had established an excellent rapport with Keenum, catching 16 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns in three games.

McLaurin had quickly emerged as the top option in the passing game, alongside scatback Chris Thompson. But there's no guarantee that he and Haskins will have that same connection in Washington's offense. 

They'll have time to learn the new system together, of course, after playing together at Ohio State. And it was always possible that McLaurin—who was out on Sunday with a hamstring injury—would see his production naturally dip as teams got more tape on him and game-planned around him. So he was best considered a flex option before this change.

That designation doesn't change, but with Haskins under center, McLaurin becomes more of a boom-or-bust pick until we see what type of connection he has with Haskins in a new system. 

Washington's other top receiver, Paul Richardson, was more of a WR4 consideration, a designation he should keep even with the quarterback change. Like the Haskins-McLaurin connection, the Haskins-Richardson rapport will take time to develop. 

As for Thompson, he's a safe bet to remain a solid flex option. Scatbacks who are heavily involved in the offense generally get a bump with a quarterback change, serving as security blankets for younger quarterbacks. Thompson already had a defined role—his production should stay steady if unspectacular.