Penn State lands Dotson in round one, Blue-White Game nuggets on T-Frank Friday

The football calendar continues to churn this weekend with the 2022 NFL Draft. Less than a week after Penn State’s Blue-White Game, 11 former Nittany Lions hope to hear their name called during the three-day event.

If you want to chat with film analyst Thomas Frank Carr about the draft, Blue-White weekend, or anything else, join him as he recaps the week in the Lion’s Den Message Forum.

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Penn State receiver Jahan Dotson jumps into first half of round one

Last night was one of the busiest first rounds in draft history. The New York Jets started a run on pass catchers when they selected Garrett Wilson tenth overall. That quickly sent the Saints up the draft board to secure his college teammate, Chris Olave. The Detroit Lions topped them all when they jumped from 32 to 12 to secure Alabama wide receiver, Jameson Williams. In fact, the receiver dominated the conversation of the first round. Two more trades happened shortly after, the first sending superstar receiver AJ Brown from the Titans to the Eagles. The Ravens then moved on from former first round receiver Hollywood Brown by shipping him to Arizona for the 23rd overall pick.

That run on receivers pushed other players at the position higher than expected, including Penn State’s star pass-catcher, Jahan Dotson. The consensus on Dotson was that he was a late first-round pick that would fall somewhere between picks 21 and 32. Yet the Washington Commanders had a different plan and snatched up Dotson at pick 16. 

Last night I wrote about Dotson’s fit into the Commanders’ offense and what sort of situation he finds himself in. While all of that information is true, I’m sorry to say it’s not as detailed as I’d like it to be. The reason is that it’s not a very good offense. When I have the chance, the teams I study are Kansas City, Buffalo, Green Bay, or San Francisco because they offer unique insights into how the game is evolving and what sort of cues other teams should take. These ideas help me understand where Penn State’s concepts fit into the larger picture. 

Washington? Not so much. 

More on Dotson to Washington: How Jahan Dotson fits Washington Commander’s offense

The reason is that I have not studied the Washington Commanders offense under offensive coordinator Scott Turner is that it’s not very good. His father, Norv, was famous for the deep ball. A typical Norv Turner offense would utilize hard play-action fakes and deep routes to generate chunk plays. 

On a rushed view of their film this morning, Washington seems like a pretty standard NFL spread offense that utilizes zone rushing concepts, modern play-action, read option, RPOs, and intermediate-to-deep routes. Instead of unique, think of this offense as a flipped house. It probably has trendy flooring and flashy appliances, but in the end, it’s just a standard box house. There’s no unique architecture or design behind it. 

From a schematic standpoint, this is a good fit for Dotson, but it’s not a uniquely good fit. The former Penn State receiver’s skills and professionalism make him a good fit in any offense, including boilerplate concepts.

Additional Blue-White game observations

With all of this focus on the NFL, let’s not forget about the current Penn State Nittany Lions. We took a long look at the quarterbacks and their performance from the Blue-White game early in the week. Check out the extended look at Penn State’s QB room from Monday for those who didn’t see it. 

Later, we took a more broad approach to the game, and I gave you five Penn State players that stood out on Saturday afternoon. 

Five Penn State players who stood out in the Blue-White Game

One area we will address this weekend is the offensive line, starting with the tackles. While it’s tough to glean too much from the Blue-White Game, there are some essential clues we can see from a fundamental perspective. One such clue is getting an updated snapshot on physical skills after an offseason of work. 

One player I’ll highlight right now is right tackle, Caedan Wallace. Earlier this offseason, Penn State head coach James Franklin mentioned that Wallace could also play left tackle for the Nittany Lions if something happened to starter Olu Fashanu. That comment hit my ears like a metal clang. Wallace struggled to maintain balance and proficiency at right tackle last season. So how would he have the athleticism to function on the left?

Franklin’s words made much more sense after watching Wallace perform on Saturday. His fluidity, quickness, and lateral foot speed were night and day from 2021. This offseason, he put in the work to develop his physical skills and looks like a different player. How he performs under pressure is still unknown, but he now has the physical tools to play on the boundary of the pocket. 

Got something else on your mind? Join the conversation in the Lion’s Den to round out the week!