Washington trades Jahan Dotson for . . . not a ton

August 23, 2024

by Steve Thomas

Washington traded their 2022 first round pick, former Penn St. wide receiver Jahan Dotson and a 5th round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday in exchange for a third round pick and two seventh round picks.  The third round pick coming to Washington is the higher of two held by the Eagles.

As a result, Dotson’s career in Washington has come to an end with a total of 29 games played in two seasons, including 26 starts, with 84 receptions in 144 targets, for a 58.3% catch percentage, 1041 yards, 12.4 yards per reception, and 11 touchdowns.  As a rookie in 2022, he played 12 games, with 10 starts, and had 35 receptions in 61 targets, a 57.4% catch percentage, 523 yards, 14.9 yards per reception, and 7 touchdowns.  In 2023, Dotson played all 17 games, with 16 starts, and made 48 receptions in 83 targets, for a 59.0% completion percentage, 518 yards, 10.6 yards per reception, and 4 touchdowns.

I had a whole other column ready to publish today, but this development was too important to ignore.  I’m not surprised that the team traded Dotson, in general terms.  As is evident from his stats, he’s been mediocre by starting receiver standards during his time in DC, certainly not what a team would want from a first round pick.  More than that, though, his performance regressed last season and he hasn’t shown anything special so far this offseason.  Therefore, I’m not surprised that he’s gone.  I liked his talent level coming out of college, but he just hasn’t been able to excel in the NFL.  Dotson isn’t a player who other teams fear or have to game plan specifically for him.  No great loss, really, for the roster, particularly understanding that the decisions are now being made by an entirely new front office and coaching staff.

Side note: are their words in the English language to properly convey exactly how terrible Ron Rivera’s drafts were for the future of the franchise?  I don’t think so.  We may have to dive into ancient Latin in order to find adjectives sufficient to hit the mark.  The guy was truly bad at drafting.

But back to Dotson – you shouldn’t be shocked that he’s gone.  Or even for the return that Washington got back for him.  Dotson and a fifth for a third and two sevenths is fairly modest trade, but given his average at best production in his two seasons, nobody should have expected much more than that.  What was pretty darn unexpected is that they’d trade him inside the NFC East, and the fact that they did it a couple of days before the final preseason game.

The Eagles being Dotson’s destination says it all about what Washington’s leadership forecasts for Dotson’s future.  To be fair, Washington has put below average quarterbacks on the field since the day Dotson arrived in DC, so it’s possible that his performance improves on a better team with a better quarterback.  Still, though, I’m not too worried about this trade coming back to haunt Washington in the form of a massive day from Dotson in a crucial late-season battle for the soul of the NFC East.  Meh.

The bigger and more interesting question is why Washington chose to do this now.  Is there a hidden star on the roster who the coaches believe will be ready to be a quality starter in week 1?  Or, for you conspiracy theorists out there, are they planning on moving mountains to bring in Brandon Aiyuk after all, after weeks of rumors?  I refuse to believe that there’s not some sort of plan here, but I also don’t accept that this unknown plan is to just elevate one of the players currently on the roster to the starting role opposite Terry McLaurin.  Dyami Brown isn’t that guy, at least in my opinion.  Jamison Crowder is an experienced pro, but at this point in his career, he’s shouldn’t be a starting “Z” receiver.  All of the rest of the players on the roster who would physically fit the role are young and/or inexperienced as starters, and none of them immediately jump out at me as the answer.

Honestly, it’s an odd move right now.  Hopefully there’s more to this than just a move to get rid of one receiver drafted too high by the previous leadership.

What do you think about this trade?  Let me know in the comment section below.