How did Jahan Dotson play in preseason?
Taking a closer look at first-round pick Jahan Dotson and his performances during preseason.
Commanders first-round pick Jahan Dotson had a quiet preseason after plenty of hype during OTAs, mini camps and training camp. The receiver had no catches against the Panthers in the preseason opener, then just two catches for 23 yards against the Chiefs before sitting out the preseason finale against the Ravens. However a receiver's production, especially in preseason, isn’t always a fair reflection of their performance. For example, Terry McLaurin only had three catches for 43 yards in preseason. So how did Dotson look even without getting the ball? Let’s take a closer look.
I’ll start by briefly touching on the two catches he did make, both against the Chiefs. The first came on a tunnel screen.
On this play, Dotson starts outside to the left before motioning in to join slot receiver Curtis Samuel in a stacked set. Off the snap, he takes a step or two up the field before working back down to the line of scrimmage and inside towards the quarterback. Meanwhile, Samuel works outside to block the outside cornerback while tight end Armani Rogers, left guard Saahdiq Charles and center Chase Roullier all work up to set up the screen for Dotson. Immediately after catching the ball, he feels the first threat coming outside, so Dotson works inside to allow his blockers a chance of reaching that first defender. Then Dotson works back outside and follows Samuel’s block on the edge, staying behind Samuel and following him towards the sideline on his way to a first down.
Dotson’s second catch came on a shallow cross.
This time, Dotson aligns in the slot with the second team offense and runs a shallow cross underneath. The play is designed with the intent of getting the ball to the shallow cross and having the tight end on the other side of the formation spot up over the middle to create traffic. The design works as planned with Dotson running free as the tight end creates the traffic. Taylor Heinicke finds him underneath and Dotson makes a solid catch to a ball just slightly behind him without really breaking stride. With the ball secured, Dotson does a nice job of turning up the field and accelerating while locating the first down marker. He steps out of bounds at the first down marker, moving the chains while also protecting himself from any unnecessary contact.
These two plays were fairly routine and not particularly special, but they were plays to be made and he managed to pick up a first down on each catch. But even when he wasn’t catching the ball, Dotson was still impacting plays.
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