When the Eagles traded a third-round pick plus two seventh-round picks to the Washington Commanders for Jahan Dotson and a fifth-round pick, it was supposed to make Philadelphia's offense unstoppable.
Suddenly, the Eagles had a top-5 WR1, WR2, and WR3 in their respective lines, which, when coupled with a top-5 tight end in Dallas Goedert and superstar free agent addition Saquon Barkley, looked like the makings of a truly elite offensive unit under new coordinator Kellen Moore.
And yet, through 10 games, Dotson really hasn't looked like an elite WR3 or even playable more often than not with the PSU product catching just over 50 percent of the passes thrown his way for 98 yards and no touchdowns.
What gives? Why isn't Dotson playing at a high level, or at least at the same level he produced at in Washington from 2022-23? Well, reporters asked head coach Nick Sirianni that very question in his first media session of Week 11, who let it be known that the difference really isn't that complicated: Dotson is earning fewer targets as the Eagles' WR3 than Washington's WR2.
“I think he’s done a nice job. Obviously, the last two weeks he’s made some big-time plays, explosive plays for us. You know, coming off each game, he hasn’t got as many touches as he has in the past, but I think that’s the nature of the third receiver here,” Sirianni told reporters. “Again, DeVonta and A.J. are going to be the two receivers that get the most thrown to them.
“That’s always tricky because you have to be able to take advantage of the opportunity you get. Jahan is used to in college and even at Washington five, six, seven targets a game. Maybe you’re only going to get one, two, three targets a game here. What are you going to do with those opportunities?”
Interesting stuff, right? Well wait, it gets even better, as Sirianni still had more to say about his new WR3.
