Three thoughts after Penn State receiver Jahan Dotson lands with the Washington Commanders
Former Penn State receiver Jahan Dotson has found his first professional football home.
The Nazareth, Pa., Area product was selected by the Washington Commanders with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Dotson was the fifth receiver picked in a run that saw seven players on offense go off the board between picks No. 6-12 after five players on defense made up the first five choices.
Here are three thoughts on Dotson’s draft slot.
1. Dotson defies expectations again
Many media mock drafts thought Dotson would go to either the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, or Kansas City Chiefs in the first round. All of those teams picked between Nos. 20-32 in the opening stanza of the draft. Some predictions even had the former Penn State star falling out of the first round.
However, Washington selecting Dotson where it did is the latest example of how the 5-foot-11, 178-pound 2021 All-American has yet again defied the expectations set for him. Keep in mind that Dotson was only a third-team All-Big Ten pick after an impressive 2020 season.
“I truly believe I am the best receiver in the draft,” Dotson said at Penn State Pro Day.
“I’m right up there with the top guys. My film kind of proves that. I feel like every time I step on this field, that I play like I’m one of the best and I feel like I am one of the best.”
He was drafted among the best, which proves his point.
2. The former Penn State receiver joins an interesting receivers corps in Washington
What kind of fit can Dotson expect in Washington?
Dotson was the leading receiver for Penn State over the last two seasons. He will now team up with another former Big Ten receiver, Terry McLaurin, in the NFC East. The former Ohio State Buckeye led the Commanders in receiving yards last season. Curtis Samuel is in the mix too, of course, with quarterback Carson Wentz now at the helm of head coach Ron Rivera‘s team.
All told, it seems to be a perfect fit for both the receiver and his new team.
“I watched Jahan Dotson play against my Terps in person and the man can ball!” Maryland grad and two-time Super Bowl champ Torrey Smith wrote on Twitter.
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“Terry, Curtis and Dotson are like lighting in a bottle. That’s an explosive group for Carson to work with. I like it!”
BWI film analyst Thomas Frank Carr has more on Dotson’s fit in Washington.
3. Fast Penn State draft facts
–Dotson is the first Penn State receiver to be selected in the first round since Bryant Johnson in 2003. And, he is the highest drafted Lions pass catcher since Kenny Jackson went at No. 4 in in 1984.
–Three former Penn State players have now landed with Washington since 2018. It drafted safety Troy Apke in 2018 and end Shaka Toney last year.
–According to Penn State football communications: “A total of 368 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft, which ranks seventh among Division I institutions. Penn State has had 51 draft picks since 2010. A total of 33 Nittany Lions have been drafted since head coach James Franklin’s arrival to the program.”
