Jahan Dotson finally shows up: ‘People forget I was a 1st-round pick'

Jahan Dotson seemed almost insulted after the game when he was asked about his huge 36-yard catch against the Jaguars like it was a big surprise.

“People tend to forget that I was a 1^st-round pick,” Dotson said after the game. “I can make plays.”

Dotson was the 16^th pick in the draft just two years ago, but in his first 7 ½ games as an Eagle he didn’t look the part.

It's not easy joining a new team with a new quarterback and a new scheme and a new coaching staff 15 days before opening day.

And when Dotson had just six catches for 35 yards on 13 targets the first seven games of the season, it was fair to wonder how smart it was for the Eagles to use a 3^rd-round pick to acquire him from Washington after training camp.

But with A.J. Brown leaving the game Sunday at halftime with a knee injury, the Eagles needed plays from somebody other than Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith.

And on a 1^st-and-10 early in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts spotted Dotson deep down the left sideline with only Tyson Campbell in coverage. 

Campbell is a very good young corner – a 2^nd-round pick out of Georgia in 2021 – and he had strong coverage on Dotson. But Hurts threw the 50-50 ball Dotson’s way, and with Campbell draped all over him, Dotson stuck his right hand out around Campbell's helmet and one-handed the ball, tapped it in the air, then secured it on his way down to the turf.

DeVonta Smith upstaged him with his insane one-handed touchdown in the fourth quarter, but on a normal day Dotson would have had the play of the game.

The catch went from the Eagles’ 32 to the Jaguars’ 32, a 36-yarder that helped set up Hurts’ 18-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 22-0 lead.

“Ball was in the air, go get it and make a play,” Dotson said. “Because I’m the third receiver in this offense I don’t get a lot of opportunities, so I’ve got to make the most of them when they come.

“But I have the ultimate confidence when the ball’s in the air that I’m going to come down with it, that I’m going to make a play, and that’s what I did.”

It was the 3^rd-longest catch of Dotson’s career behind a 40-yarder from Carson Wentz in 2022 and a 61-yarder from Taylor Heinicke last year.

His longest previous catch as an Eagle was a 10-yarder against the Browns.

“Jahan’s catch, my goodness,” Nick Sirianni said. “There were some plays today that will live on in the sports world of Philadelphia for a long time. They were great individual plays by these guys.”

It looks like Brown escaped serious injury, which is huge considering the Eagles have averaged 27.6 points per game since 2022 with Brown and 15.3 in the four games he’s missed. 

But maybe that catch is a sign that Dotson is ready to contribute more consistently as the third receiver and that Hurts is starting to trust him in big moments.

The Eagles could certainly use another weapon.

“I feel like I’m progressing each and every week,” he said. “Just honing in on sharpening my skills and making sure I’m ready when my number’s called. 

“I don’t know when or if I’ll have a breakout game, but I’m going to be ready for the moment. That just goes to my preparation every single day. I prepare as if I’m the No. 1 receiver, as if I’m going to get 100 targets a game. 

“But I’m just trying to make the most of my opportunities when I get them and make some plays for the team.”

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