Luke McCaffrey is blessed.

Blessed to be living out his dream of being an NFL player that he's had since childhood. Blessed to be part of a family that is full of athletes that he can look up to. And blessed to have more than enough talent to start turning heads at the Washington Commanders practices.

McCaffrey lived up to the reputation that comes with his last name during OTAs and minicamp in May and June, establishing a rapport with fellow rookie Jayden Daniels and earning praise from veterans for his playmaking ability. His habit of stacking positive days raises questions not just about how far he could rise up the depth chart by the season opener but also the impact he could have on the entire offense.

McCaffrey continued that progress during the first day of training camp, but the former Rice wideout and Nebraska quarterback isn't looking at what could be; he's focused on the present and what he can do to keep moving forward.

"Every single day we're just coming out here trying to compete with ourselves, compete with each other and do what we can to get a little bit better," McCaffrey said to reporters after practice.

That's the attitude McCaffrey has had since he was drafted with the 100th overall pick in the third round. He already proved to general manager Adam Peters that he was one of the best receivers in college football last season, as he caught 71 passes for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns, but he has taken the stance that he still has plenty to learn as he goes through his rookie year.

To do that, McCaffrey has smartly turned to Washington's veteran wide receivers, particularly No. 1 option Terry McLaurin, for guidance.

"His mentality and routine is so special, and it's so cool to be able to just watch and observe him on every single rep, every single thing he does to take care of his body, every single thing he does to approach the game the right way," McCaffrey said.

McLaurin, who recently ranked No. 97 on the NFL top 100 players list, has long been one of Washington's best players and most reliable in the league, despite having to work with a dozen different quarterbacks his first five seasons. He has four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and ranks first in contested catches since 2019.

McLaurin's production stems from his efforts in the offseason. When asked what McCaffrey has noticed the most about McLaurin's routine, the rookie said, "It's the intentionality."

"I think when you're deliberate, when you're intentional, you're gonna...see some sort of movement in your progress. And it's such a blessing to have a vet like him that's the head and lead of our room."

And McLaurin isn't cagey when it comes to sharing tips for young receivers, either. McLaurin typically views himself as someone who leads by example, but as his influence on the team and around the league has grown over the years, he has taken a proactive approach to offering knowledge to his teammates so they can improve.

McCaffrey has already peppered McLaurin with questions since they first took the field together, but just watching McLaurin has led to McCaffrey fine tuning his skill set.

"For me, there have been a lot of micro improvements because of that," McCaffrey said. "I think that the ability to watch and learn from a guy who does it at such a high level like him has been the result of why I've been able to have a lot of small improvements over the past couple months."

Although McCaffrey has already shown that he can hang with the rest of his fellow young wide receivers, he recognizes that he is still relatively new to the position. He wants to maximize his potential do what he can to "get better and compete every single day."

It's hard to predict what McCaffrey will be in his career, but it's clear that he's doing whatever necessary to get the most out of his skill set. With the coaching staff preaching competition and pushing for their players to find methods of improvement, McCaffrey feels like he's in the right place to accomplish that.

"We have a locker room that's in tune to that," McCaffrey said. "We're just excited to be out here. I don't know if anybody else has less or more experience. We have a lot of guys who know a lot of football and love to compete."