Eagles Film Review: Jahan Dotson is the most talented WR3 that Philly has had in some time (2024)

As you all know, the Eagles traded for wide receiver Jahan Dotson last week.

Dotson was a pre-draft favorite of mine, and I wanted the Eagles to pick him, so I was excited when the move was announced. After watching the All22 on a few of his games, here are some thoughts on the Dotson. As always, I’ll give you my overall summary of the player at the end.

Jahan Dotson

Before we get into the film, I went back into my 2022 NFL Draft notes and found my summary of Dotson. I still think it is a pretty accurate summary of him as a player, although he clearly didn’t live up to expectations this past year.

I think Dotson is one of the best route runners in the class, which is why I’m a lot higher on him than the consensus seems to be. He understands the nuances of route running and how to get open, and you can see this with head fakes and shoulder leans to create a lot of separation. In addition to this, he has extremely good hands and body control and is fearless on catches over the middle of the field. He can win in the short and intermediate area and has just enough explosiveness to create some big plays as well, although he is not a burner. His upside is probably limited to a wide receiver 2, due to his lack of size, but I think he will be very good at the next level. Despite not consistently being able to be defeat press, he does have examples on film of him being able to defeat press with very quick feet at the line of scrimmage.

The first thing to note about Jahan Dotson’s film is that he can lineup anywhere. Despite being undersized, he is not a slot-only receiver and can win on the outside, too. I think his best route is a comeback where he can stop on a dime. He is also very good at coming back to the football.

He had good hands in college but has struggled a little bit with drops in the NFL. I don’t have an explanation for why. He seems to drop easy ones like this one, so maybe it’s a concentration rather than a technique issue. How good is this route, though?

This is also a top route. I said in my scouting report that he understands the nuances of route running, and this is a good example. The slight lean towards the outside of the cornerback, which gets him to open his hips, is perfect. You can already see from the first 3 clips that he can line up all over the field, too.

Dotson is not a burner, but he can get vertical. He is fast enough to threaten vertically but won’t just run past defenders. In 2022, he made some fantastic down-the-field plays, including this one. If you want him to run clear-out routes from the slot, he can fill that role. Just don’t expect him to make too many catches like this, or he wouldn’t have been available in a trade!

This kind of play is why I really liked Dotson pre-draft. He understands how to get open against man coverage but also knows how to find the void against zone. If he runs this full speed, it’s a really tough throwing window for the quarterback. But look at how he slows down out of his break to make this an easy throw for the quarterback. This is a lovely play.

He is not an ‘X’ receiver and he will struggle with physical outside cornerbacks. However, he does flash the ability to beat press coverage with his quickness, and he is someone you can line up with on the outside. I would describe Dotson as quick rather than fast, which can help him get open against bigger cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage. I’m unsure if he falls here or gets pulled back, but it shows off his footwork at the line of scrimmage.

You might want to know about his blocking if you are a football nerd like me. In all honesty, it’s pretty average. He is a willing blocker but he just isn’t physical enough to make any real impact. He’s certainly no Johnny Wilson as a blocker!

I also thought Dotson had some pretty average reps in the games I watched from last year. This one stood out to me as it’s the kind of play I wouldn’t have expected to see from him. He needs to flatten this route better; otherwise, it is far too easy for the cornerback to jump inside and make a play on the football. I am not sure why he declined this past year, but I was surprised to see plays like this appear in his film.

Finally, Dotson’s problem coming out of college was always going to be his size. He just isn’t very big and will struggle against more physical cornerbacks. Here is an example where he needs to run through the cornerbacks contact without slowing down. However, in Dotson’s defense, one thing you will notice about all of the plays I have posted is that he is often static at the line of scrimmage. I was surprised how little Washington used him in motion to give him a free release, and I would expect the Eagles to do this a lot more. Washington didn’t feature him very much at all last year, and he didn’t have many chances to create yards after the catch with the ball in his hands, either.

Overall

I know I am biased because I was a big fan of Dotson’s pre-draft, but I am a big fan of this move. Dotson is the most talented #3 receiver the Eagles have had for a long time, and they desperately needed a proper option there in case DeVonta Smith or AJ Brown miss any time. The Eagles now have an outstanding trio of receivers who can all line up in multiple spots across the formation, which will allow the offense to be very multiple this year.

Dotson has good speed, but his strongest asset is still his route running. He understands how to get open, and even though he had a down year last year, you can see some excellent routes in the film. I think his numbers last year were partly down to a dip in his own performance level, some poor quarterback play, and a scheme that didn’t feature him as much as it did in 2022. I wouldn’t expect his numbers to be great because of the number of receiving options that the Eagles have, but I foresee him coming up with clutch catches on third down when defenses are focusing on the Eagles’ other weapons. Dotson isn’t known for having great hands due to his drop rate the past couple of years, but he does have good body control and has shown the ability to catch in traffic as well as make tough catches on the sideline. I think the drops are a concentration issue more than a talent one.

Honestly, I have been pretty fed up watching the Eagles’ #3 wide receivers the past couple of years, and I am thankful that I will get to watch Dotson play that role this year. This is a good wide receiver, #3, and I expect him to improve the Eagles this season.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.