As a wide receiver, Terry McLaurin views continuity as the most important key to success and longevity in football. He sees his position as being dependent on the connection he's able to establish with the quarterback, and longevity helps that connection develop and grow.

Ironically, continuity and longevity are two aspects of the game McLaurin hasn't seen much of during his first five years with the Washington Commanders. He has played under a revolving door of head coaches, coordinators and quarterbacks, and this year is no different.

Although McLaurin has been able to roll with the changes around him and continue to establish himself as a dominant force on the field, he is coming into this season with a mission to establish continuity amongst his teammates under new head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

As a leader in the locker room, the fresh start under a new coaching staff allows for McLaurin to aid in the overhaul of the Commanders' identity and set the standards he and his teammates will uphold both on and off the field.

The first step for McLaurin establishing a new Commanders' identity is to focus on the future, rather than the past.

"I think the good thing about it is that AP [General Manager Adam Peters] and DQ [Quinn] didn't really come in really focused on what happened last year or the old regime," McLaurin said during his press conference on the first day of training camp. "It was just, how do we move forward? How do we build an identity for this Commander's team? And they really allowed us to take the keys to the car and set standards for ourselves."

During the offseason, McLaurin and other leaders decided the best way to move forward was to craft a pledge for the team to sign. The pledge sets standards for the team to commit to and acts as a way to hold each other accountable.

"It's just there's one voice and one sound that the team came up with outside of the expectations of the coaches or the organization, which I think is extremely powerful," McLaurin said. "I haven't really experienced anything necessarily like that, where the guys have come up with something like that. And it was just really cool to see everybody's ideas and how they view leadership, how they view team building and what's important to having success.

"And obviously we know that doesn't mean anything if we don't live up to those standards, which that's part of the pledge, but also, the wins and losses are a big part of that as well. I think that's obviously the big picture, the wins and the losses. That's why we're all here to win. There's things underneath winning and losing that contribute to winning and losing, if that makes sense. I feel like there's a very clear set of standards that we've put forward."

Along with the pledge, McLaurin prioritized getting to know his teammates outside of his position group. Although he wasn't able to attend the offseason meet up led by quarterback Marcus Mariota in Oregon, McLaurin made an effort to join throwing sessions and play golf with Mariota and tight end Zach Ertz.

The locker room has presented another opportunity for building connections. Typically, McLaurin's locker is amongst the other receivers. This year, however, the players have decided to mix up the position groups. McLaurin said his new spot is next to cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and some of the linemen. He thinks this setup has helped the continuity process progress, and he admits that in getting to know his teammates, he feels more comfortable holding them accountable.

"I could just tell we have a group of guys that are gelling well and enjoy spending time with one another and also like to grind," McLaurin said. "We set standards for ourselves as a team where that's what you have to hold up to if you wanna be a part of this team and I think that's great because it holds everybody accountable, then it's on myself and it's on other guys to hold each other accountable and to that standard. As long as that doesn't deviate, then you have a good chance to have success."

The offseason team bonding has also helped McLaurin shift his leadership style to become more vocal rather than leading by example, something he feels is a step in the right direction for setting the new standard of what it means to be a Commander.

"I think it's just more so speaking to the accountability aspect where you see guys maybe not necessarily doing what we set out to do or the standards that we set that you kind of check them on that," McLaurin said. "But I think that the awareness that we all have is not coming from a place of anger or a place of frustration. It's coming a place from a place of accountability. And we've all had a pledge with one another, we're not going to take that personally.

"And so for myself, I just tried to put myself in a situation where I speak up a little bit more. I know what I bring to the table as a player and a leader, and I just try to set that standard. So, I really try to hold myself to a standard where, it's not perfection, but on and off the field where I'm leading in a way that guys want to follow you."

Although it's just Day 1 of training camp, McLaurin is already starting to feel the benefits of his offseason work in setting the standard of continuity and accountability among his teammates. The connections he has made off the field are beginning to transfer to practice, as evidenced by a play during red zone drills in which rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with the veteran receiver on a hitch route, a play McLaurin admitted can be tough to get right.

"I've experienced a lot in my going on six years here and I could just at least speak to just this year and I feel like the continuity from the top down is very clear what the objective is, bringing in good people who are really good at their job and are gonna be competitors in what they do and bring their best selves to the building each and every day," McLaurin said. "So, when you have that one voice, that one mission, I think it makes it very clear what the expectation is. And there's not a lot of deviation from that because if you wanna be a part of this team in this organization, you have to fit that mold or you probably won't be here."