Will Jahan Dotson be able to contribute while A.J. Brown is out? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Jahan Dotson and Jalen Hurts are trying to squeeze an entire offseason into just a few weeks. And so far, it’s not going well.
Dotson, who the Eagles acquired along with a 5th-round pick for a 3rd-round pick and two 7th-rounders, has one catch for six yards in two games this year, including a start Monday night in place of A.J. Brown in the loss to the Falcons.
With Brown unlikely to play Sunday against the Saints in New Orleans, Dotson is expected to get his second start in an Eagles uniform.
They need the former 1st-round pick to contribute.
“The toughest part was that I was just in camp with another team, basically finished camp, and came straight here,” Dotson said before practice Thursday. “I’m going to learn the playbook in about a week or so? It’s pretty tough.
“But you get out what you put into it. I put a lot of hard work into it and I gained the coaches’ trust that they can put me out there without messing up. That was the overall goal when I came here. No one’s going to care how long it takes me to learn it. People just want to see me get out on the field.”
Since 2021, DeVonta Smith has 28 games with at least 60 receiving yards, Brown has 25 and Quez Watkins has six, most as a starter in 2021. No other Eagles WR – not Jalen Reagor, not Olamide Zaccheaus, not Julio Jones, not Zach Pascal – has ever had 60 yards in a game since Nick Sirianni became head coach.
Smith and Brown are one of the NFL’s top duos, but the Eagles haven’t had an impact third receiver since Jason Avant back in the final few years of Andy Reid’s coaching tenure.
The Eagles have been fortunate that Brown and Smith haven’t missed much time. But when an outside receiver has missed time, there hasn’t been anybody to fill in.
Dotson caught 85 passes for 1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns in two years in Washington – mainly as a starter. The Eagles need that sort of production from Dotson now.
“It’s all a matter of taking advantage of your opportunities,” he said. “If that’s one target a game or that’s 10 targets a game. You’ve got to take advantage of every single one. So that’s pretty much my motto going into it.
“I honestly just love football so much, so I love just being out there and just playing because it’s something that I love to do. I’m just putting good things on tape, showing the coaches that I’m valuable to this team and that I have a role in this team and that when my opportunities come, I’m going to take full advantage of them and make plays for this team.”
Dotson has only been targeted twice in two games. Hurts nearly got picked off on an ill-advised pass his way in the opener in São Paulo – it looked like there was some miscommunication between the two. And his six-yard gain Monday night came early in the first quarter, and he wasn’t targeted again.
All Eagles receivers not named DeVonta or A.J. – Dotson, Britain Covey, Johnny Wilson and Parris Campbell – have a total of 29 yards on 156 snaps in two games.
Not good enough.
Covey is a nice slot but not an outside receiver. Wilson had a good camp but doesn’t look quite ready as a rookie 6th-round pick. Campbell was released at the end of training camp for a reason and was a practice-squad call-up Monday.
If anybody is going to contribute opposite Smith, it will probably have to be Dotson.
He said he’s encouraged by the progress he’s made with Hurts since arriving here on Aug. 22.
“It’s been good,” he said. “It’s been growing day by day. Obviously, I haven’t had as much time with him as A.J. or DeVonta, so you know communication has been really big for us, just talking through things.
“That’s going to continue all year and we’ll just keep working on it. He’s constantly talking to me about different looks that he likes and different things that I like to run. So it’s a day-by-day process. But definitely headed in the right direction.”
