Why has Jahan Dotson been a complete non-factor so far?

By Reuben Frank • Published October 3, 2024

 

A 3^rd-round pick? For this?

After watching Parris Campbell and John Ross compete for the 3^rd outside receiver spot all summer, Howie Roseman knew it wasn't enough. So he shipped a 3^rd-round pick to Washington for Jahan Dotson in late August.

He gave up a 3^rd-round pick for situations exactly like this.

A.J. Brown out? DeVonta Smith out? Now the Eagles have a guy who was a star at Penn State, the 16^th pick in the draft just two years and caught 89 passes and 11 touchdowns in two years playing with Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell in Washington.

So far? Disaster.

Like a bunch of Roseman’s offseason moves.

"The ball didn't find him as much (Sunday), and it hasn't these first couple weeks,” Nick Sirianni said. "But that doesn't mean we're any less high on him than we were when we first got him. I think he’s got great play-making ability, great potential, and we’ve just got to find ways to figure out how to use that potential.”

Dotson has played 200 snaps, started three games and caught five of nine targets for 25 yards.

Heck, backup tight end Grant Calcaterra had more yards on one catch Sunday than Dotson has all year.

Stathead has only been tracking snap counts since 2012, but Dotson is the first Eagles receiver on record to play at least 45 snaps in three straight games without exceeding 12 yards in any of them. He’s also the first Eagles receiver to play 200 snaps over a four-game period without exceeding 25 total yards.

This isn’t all on Dotson. It’s partly on Nick Sirianni, partly on Kellen Moore and partly on Jalen Hurts, who’s only targeted him eight times in three starts since Brown got hurt at practice after the opener in São Paulo.

And it’s another manifestation of an offense that’s averaged just 17 points in three games without Brown. After scoring four touchdowns on opening day, the Eagles have scored just six the last three games.

What the heck is going on? How can a guy with Dotson’s resume be a non-factor in an offense that definitely needs playmaking?

"It's hard to force feed someone the football,” Nick Sirianni said. "As an offensive coach, you always want to be on the attack. But there is being on the attack and then there’s also taking what the defense gives you.

"The ball went to him when it was supposed to go to him (Sunday). And there were some times where the ball could have gone to him where something might have happened that took that away.

"And so you're a product sometimes of how the defense is played as a wide receiver. It's a little different sometimes at wide receiver how the ball gets itself to you.”

In his two seasons with Washington, Dotson never had a three-game stretch where he netted only 25 receiving yards. He averaged 35.9 yards per game, which is hardly elite but certainly better than his current 6.3 yards per game.

And he didn’t become an Eagle until after training camp, but he’s been here for six weeks now, long enough to learn the offense and develop some chemistry with Hurts.

Yet here we are.

Dotson had 15 catches of at least 20 yards and 43 receptions of at least 10 yards in 29 games with the Commanders. His longest catch in four games here has gone for seven yards.

His 2.8 yards per target ranks 99^th out of 103 wide receivers who’ve been targeted at least eight times. 

It's not like he's dropping a bunch of passes. The ball just isn't going his way.

"Jahan is going about this (with) the right process,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. "He's done a really nice job as far as coming in here and getting acclimated. Again, like a number of our guys, I think our focus is on how we can give them the best opportunity to be successful, give them more targets, more looks. He had some in there and we just weren't able to get to him.”

The good news is that by the time the Eagles get back from the bye week A.J. Brown will be healthy enough to play after missing three games and DeVonta Smith will be three weeks removed from his concussion and hopefully able to return to action.

But whether or not Brown and Smith are playing, the Eagles need to get some sort of production out of Dotson.

We thought it was a disaster when Roseman traded a 3^rd-round pick to the Lions for Golden Tate at the 2018 trade deadline. Tate averaged 35 yards per game the rest of the season and caught the game-winning touchdown in the playoff win over the Bears.

Dotson is averaging six yards per game.

Is Hurts giving Dotson enough opportunities? Probably not. He doesn’t seem comfortable targeting any of the depth-chart WRs, although he did throw a touchdown pass to Parris Campbell Sunday in Tampa.

But in the three games Brown has missed, Dotson, Campbell, Johnny Wilson and John Ross (who only played in the last game) have combined for just 23 total targets.

"I think Jalen has handled a number of different guys playing in a number of different roles these past few weeks,” Moore said. "Those are situations where the more you spend time around those guys, the more you build that cohesiveness and anticipation and all that fun stuff. That will come.

"We're excited about these guys. We've got great depth in that receiver room, and we are going to need these guys as the season goes on. A lot of the guys are going to have to play and be counted on.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/why-has-jahan-dotson-been-a-complete-non-factor-so-far-eagles-2024-season-nick-sirianni/620399/

The question in the article title is a good one.  It has to be one of 3 things: coaches aren't devising ways to involve him, Hurts just doesn't look his way, or Dotson just stinks or is still learning the offense.

Given that Sirianni has always maintained "the offense runs through Brown, Smith and Goedert", it definitely starts with coaching.  Our offense never looks like it has a plan so I'm sure they aren't devising things for Dotson.  Hurts, historically, rarely involves other receivers.  Is it because of him or because of Sirianni?  The best offenses spread the ball around...Sirianni's offense doesn't do that.  Either that's because Hurts can't do it, or it's just a flawed philosophy.

Can't catch the ball when it's not thrown to you........the problem lies with Hurts.  Progressions waaaaaay too slow.  

The eagles have been looking for a 3rd WR since Hurts got here.......ridiculous.  He rarely gets to his 3rd read.

We know that Hurts has his guys that he trusts to throw the ball to. Dotson isn’t one of them right now. Maybe that changes? Maybe he finds some that connection at some point? But right now it doesn’t look likely. Unfortunately this is another case of Howie trying to get a "steal” for a former first round pick who wasn’t wanted by their team.

He's a non-factor because the Iggles have such a good WR1 and WR2. Hurts trusts those guys waaaayyyyy more than a new WR3.

Hurts runs if his first option isnt open. Hard to believe we are paying 50 mil a year to a qb who is unable to work thru progressions. Playing more like a college qb than a pro. I figure 7-8 teams might be interested in trading for him. I would listen if they called

On 10/5/2024 at 2:46 AM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

We know that Hurts has his guys that he trusts to throw the ball to. Dotson isn’t one of them right now. Maybe that changes? Maybe he finds some that connection at some point? But right now it doesn’t look likely. Unfortunately this is another case of Howie trying to get a "steal” for a former first round pick who wasn’t wanted by their team.

Well then that's a coaching problem.  Sirianni or Moore needs to hammer Hurts to spread the ball around....get thru his progressions faster.   I can't believe you guys think that Dotson, all of a sudden, is a bad receiver. 

The eagles have been looking for a 3rd WR for years.  66 targets to the 3rd WR last year. That's about 3 or 4 per game.  One of the lowest in the league.  Granted, Brown and Smith are exceptional WRs and the opportunities for them to be open early in Hurts reads are considerable.  But there are plenty of times they don't get open immediately......and Hurts will look too long at them and by then the pocket is collapsing and he never gets to his 3rd option.

Watch Mahomes, Allen, Cousins, Rodgers, among others, and watch how fast they scan and then deliver.  

This is not a Dotson problem......this is a Hurts and a coaching problem.

12 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

I can't believe you guys think that Dotson, all of a sudden, is a bad receiver. 

I don’t all of a sudden think he’s a bad receiver. I think he’s a receiver who’s produced with bad QBs but ultimately his former team did not want to keep him. He’s a receiver with some good traits but some fundamental flaws that led to his team wanting him off their roster.

On 10/8/2024 at 11:36 PM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don’t all of a sudden think he’s a bad receiver. I think he’s a receiver who’s produced with bad QBs but ultimately his former team did not want to keep him. He’s a receiver with some good traits but some fundamental flaws that led to his team wanting him off their roster.

That's a flawed argument........players change teams all the time for a number of reasons, often going on to be very productive.....one of those reasons is that a player on a team with a new coach or new system may not fit the system or there is a personality issue.  The Titans didn't want to pay AJ Brown.....was that an indication of flaws or just bad player evaluation?

I just think Roseman and the pro scouting department saw a good opportunity to round out the WR position.....and the problem of less production is not Dotson's fault.  It Hurts and the coaching staff......