Jahan Dotson, Why the Commanders drafted the Wide receiver in the NFL Draft
With the 16th pick in the 1st round of the NFL Draft the Washington Commanders selected wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Here's what we know about the player.
Jahan Dotson's bio:
A top-200 overall recruit in 2018, Dotson had to wait his turn a little bit due to the talented Penn State receiving options in K.J. Hamler and Pat Freiermuth, along with having to deal with sub-par quarterback play all along. He increased his production every single year with the Nittany Lions, finishing his senior season with 96 touches for 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns, which earned him a spot on the first-team All-Big Ten.
Jahan Dotson's strengths
The first thing that stands out about Dotson is how he threatens vertically on every single route almost and the way he comes of the ball. He has won down the field to an extent where guys have to turn and run routinely.
Dotson actively works through contact down the field, swiping down the reach of the defensive back, who’s trying to hold him back, and he has that extra gear once the ball is in the air, to catch up to it. While he can widen the corner and pull away on post routes, that ability to put defenders on their heels is what that sets up a large amount of Dotson’s routes, snapping off curls and bending inside on deep in-breakers.
He may never be a great blocker, but he pulls the corner with him constantly by showing a little hop/shake and burst, plus when he does get them on their heels, he can at least take them off balance and fight through contact.
Dotson forces defenders to stop on their feet with slide/shuffle releases and explosive bursts, to create separation. If they try to stab at his chest, he packs a good two-handed swipe to get off contact. He’s slippery off the line when guys try to get in his face and on quick in-breakers for that offense.
Dotson runs some beautiful deep-out routes, where he widens the corner and makes him anticipate the break to the post, forcing 180-degree hip turns as he ends up bending them towards the sideline off that inside foot. I really like the way he incorporates sudden bursts as well as gearing down just a little bit to make guys anticipate a different break.
On double-moves, he gets defenders to commit on the initial break by violently snapping his head, before making them regret doing so shortly after. Dotson’s ability to defeat man-coverage is backed up by the fact he was contested just four times on his 31 targets in one-on-one matchups. He could become a quarterback’s best friend fairly quickly, because of the way he continues to work towards open space and presents himself towards the QB on secondary routes.
The way Dotson frames the ball as a catcher allows him to focus his lower body on the sideline and identify defenders around him, which is apparent with the way he snatches it on slant routes. He can get up there for balls that look like they’re thrown a couple of yards over his head, which is how he only was charged with two drops last year.
In 2020, he made two highlights grabs back-to-back versus Ohio State’s Shaun Wade in 2020, first juggling the ball to himself and pinning it against his helmet, before making a sick one-handed snag on a throw behind him and strolling into the end-zone.
Once the ball in his hands, Dotson’s start-stop quicks make him tough to get a clean shot at. He can bubble around defenders in the open field, already peaking at safeties and driving down from depth, as he hauls in passes of the middle, giving a little hesitation and burst against guys who have the outside leverage. He understands when it’s time to live another day and doesn’t try to spin or juke in the middle of traffic
Jahan Dotson's Weaknesses:
While you like the way he runs with his pads over his knees, Dotson can stumble a bit at times, when he gets too far ahead of himself. He has that elusiveness to him to evade press-attempts, but when guys do get into his frame, he tends to get hung up with contact pretty badly. Due to his small frame, he often isn’t able to stay in his lane and keep that space towards the sideline on fade routes if there is that initial contact. You don’t see him use subtle push-off to create room for himself. After the catch, there’s not much contact balance or power, to run through wraps or anything like that. So the majority of NFL teams will look at him as a slot receiver only.
Conclusion on Jahan Dotson:
While there are some obvious size concerns with Dotson, he did win on the outside and against the press to some degree in the second-most physical conference in college football. He might need to hit the weight room a little more excessively, so he can fight through contact more consistently. He’ll probably play in the slot primarily at the next level, but for a team that is looking for a vertical threat and a catch-and-run specialist, Dotson presents an excellent number two receiving option. Came into 2021 as the clear number one option for the Nittany Lions and produced at a high level, despite frustratingly over- and underthrown by his quarterback Sean Clifford on numerous occasions. His per-catch numbers were also immensely held down by being “run into crowds” on designated touches.
With the Commanders selecting him 16th it will be fascinating to see him play.
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