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The last few years the Atlanta Falcons have hard arguably the most top-heavy dynamic at wide receiver in the NFL. Drake London has averaged nearly 1,000 receiving yards and 5.5 touchdowns per season, but nobody else at the position has stepped up to post even WR3-worthy numbers, let alone respectable WR2 production.
The Falcons made several new additions to the wide receiver corps this offseason, hoping to give London a little more help. In the third round of the draft they picked Georgia burner Zachariah Branch and in free agency they brought back Olamide Zaccheaus and signed former first-round draft pick Jahan Dotson.
The Dotson deal doesn't represent a massive investment. It's a two-year contract worth a total of $15 million. Nevertheless it's been written off as one of the team's worst off-season moves and one of the NFL's worst free agent signings in general.
To hear Dotson tell it, he just didn't get a chance to show what he could do in previous stops with the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles. Here's what Dotson said, per Josh Kendall at The Athletic.
It's a little rich to hear a first-round pick claim he didn't get an opportunity, but worth looking into at least. Dotson entered the NFL in the 2022 season with Washington and as a rookie he showed a lot of promise, totaling 35 catches on 61 targets for 523 yards and seven touchdowns in just 12 games. The following season Dotson's target total went up to 83, but his production dropped to 518 yards and four touchdowns despite playing every game.
The Commanders felt they had seen enough, so they pulled off a rare intradivision trade, sending him to the Eagles. Dotson played in all 17 games his first season in Philly, but only saw 33 targets, totaling 216 yards and zero touchdowns. Last year it was much the same story - 36 targets, 262 yards and one score.
So, it may be fair for Dotson to claim that he didn't get a real opportunity with the Eagles, where they were loaded at wide receiver with A.J. Brown (now in New England), DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert taking up a lot of the attention, as well.
However, Dotson got plenty of chances to prove he was worth a first-round pick in Washington and just wasn't able to cut it. His career catch rate is just 56.8 percent and his success rate is 46.5 percent. The odds are against him putting up the kind of numbers you'd hope for from a first-round pick at this point.
Dotson still is only 26 years old, though. There's still time for him to make a name for himself in the NFL, even if it's only in a Robin type role to Drake London's Batman. If he's able to come through and produce consistently, the Falcons will be getting a pretty great bargain.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons WR claims he didn't get opportunities with previous NFL teams
Continue reading...
The Falcons made several new additions to the wide receiver corps this offseason, hoping to give London a little more help. In the third round of the draft they picked Georgia burner Zachariah Branch and in free agency they brought back Olamide Zaccheaus and signed former first-round draft pick Jahan Dotson.
The Dotson deal doesn't represent a massive investment. It's a two-year contract worth a total of $15 million. Nevertheless it's been written off as one of the team's worst off-season moves and one of the NFL's worst free agent signings in general.
To hear Dotson tell it, he just didn't get a chance to show what he could do in previous stops with the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles. Here's what Dotson said, per Josh Kendall at The Athletic.
It's a little rich to hear a first-round pick claim he didn't get an opportunity, but worth looking into at least. Dotson entered the NFL in the 2022 season with Washington and as a rookie he showed a lot of promise, totaling 35 catches on 61 targets for 523 yards and seven touchdowns in just 12 games. The following season Dotson's target total went up to 83, but his production dropped to 518 yards and four touchdowns despite playing every game.
The Commanders felt they had seen enough, so they pulled off a rare intradivision trade, sending him to the Eagles. Dotson played in all 17 games his first season in Philly, but only saw 33 targets, totaling 216 yards and zero touchdowns. Last year it was much the same story - 36 targets, 262 yards and one score.
So, it may be fair for Dotson to claim that he didn't get a real opportunity with the Eagles, where they were loaded at wide receiver with A.J. Brown (now in New England), DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert taking up a lot of the attention, as well.
However, Dotson got plenty of chances to prove he was worth a first-round pick in Washington and just wasn't able to cut it. His career catch rate is just 56.8 percent and his success rate is 46.5 percent. The odds are against him putting up the kind of numbers you'd hope for from a first-round pick at this point.
Dotson still is only 26 years old, though. There's still time for him to make a name for himself in the NFL, even if it's only in a Robin type role to Drake London's Batman. If he's able to come through and produce consistently, the Falcons will be getting a pretty great bargain.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons WR claims he didn't get opportunities with previous NFL teams
Continue reading...
