August 25, 2024
Shamus Clancy/for PhillyVoice
New Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson meeting with the media.
The Eagles have dazzled the last two seasons with their star wideout duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but there remained a revolving door of cast members at the third receiver spot. From Quez Watkins to Olamide Zaccheaus to Julio Jones, no one could hold down that position well enough. Not every player on the roster can be a superstar, but this past training camp only augmented the Eagles' need for a new WR3.
Veteran Parris Campbell didn't move the needle enough. Sixth-round rookie fan-favorite Johnny Wilson wasn't ready for this quite yet. Enter Jahan Dotson, the former first-round pick the Eagles acquired from Washington this past week. Dotson may not have lived entirely up to his pre-draft standing in the NFL through two years, but a player who totaled 11 touchdowns in 29 career games with inside-outside versatility should give the Birds their best No. 3 receiver in years.
After the Eagles' loss in their preseason finale to the Vikings on Saturday, Dotson, who was in street clothes for the game, spoke to the media for the first time.
Regarding his trade to the Eagles, Dotson said that it came as a "shock."
"At the end of the day, it’s a business and I understand that very much so," Dotson said. "It all happens so fast, and you don’t kind of get to react to it, but you know, I would say being out here today and being on the field and kind of taking the field and taking it all in a little bit, you know, I’m very excited. It got me, like, I got goosebumps, leaving the field today, just because Philly, growing up only an hour, hour and a half away from here, you understand the passion. You understand how much people care about the Eagles. Seeing the fans go crazy, literally after a third preseason game, it was exciting."
Dotson, who was born in Newark, NJ, went to high school in Nazareth, PA. He starred at Penn State, putting up 91 catches, 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in 2021. That led him to being the 16th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. With unstable quarterback play in Washington in his first two pro seasons catching passes from the likes of Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell, Dotson didn't resemble the star-in-the-making he was with the Nittany Lions.
The good news for Dotson's development in Philly is that he doesn't need to be the guy, just a guy, a productive element of the Eagles' offense who can work himself open with defenses heavily scheming for both Brown and Smith. His ability to play both in the slot and on the outside should free Smith up to play inside at times as well, giving Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore ample opportunity to get creative with the team's offensive alignment.
Dotson's offensive snap count by position in his two years with Washington, per Pro Football Focus, with percentages:
| Position | 2022 | 2023 |
| Slot | 179 (27.5%) | 358 (39.3%) |
| Outside | 472 (72.5%) | 551 (60.5%) |
| Backfield | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.1%) |
The Eagles are stacked with star power with Smith, Brown, Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Dotson knows it, too, as he said, "We have a lot of people who can make a lot of plays, so it’s going to be fun. I’ve never, in all of my years of playing, been on a team with this much talent. I’m not only excited to play with them, I’m excited to learn, because we have a lot of great guys in the locker room from top to bottom."
Just how much can be expected from Dotson though?
Here are the statistics for the non-Brown, non-Smith wide receivers over the last two seasons in Philly:
| Stat | 2022 | 2023 |
| Targets | 70 | 66 |
| Receptions | 48 | 40 |
| Yards | 504 | 422 |
| TDs | 4 | 6 |
He won't be putting up 1,000-yard campaigns, but the opportunity is there for success. The Eagles made an investment in him, parting with a third-round pick and two seventh-rounders for Dotson and a fifth, because they believe he can have it here.
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