Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Profile: Jahan Dotson, WR Penn State
If Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson lasts to pick #44, the Cleveland Browns should strongly consider adding him to the offense.
The Amari Cooper trade was a big step in the right direction, but the Browns still need help at wide receiver, and bringing back Jarvis Landry probably is not the answer. The team needs to continue to get younger, cheaper, and more dynamic at the position, and Jahan Dotson would certainly help with that.
Dotson didn't break out until his junior year in Happy Valley, but he improved in each season of his college career and totaled 143 catches for 2,066 yards and 20 touchdowns over 2020 and 2021. He first burst onto the draft scene in Week 2 of 2020, when he torched Shaun Wade and the Ohio State secondary to the tune of eight grabs for 144 yards and three scores.
Jahan Dotson Relative Athletic Score
Physically, Dotson doesn't measure up great. His 4.43-second 40-yard dash is a very good time, but the rest of his testing was underwhelming, and his size is a concern. Not only is he short and slight, but his short arms also limit his catch radius, though you wouldn't know it from watching him.
Dotson's college tape is littered with highlight reel-worthy acrobatic snags. His ball skills are tremendous and his hands are very strong; he had just a 2.2% drop rate in 2021 and catches most everything thrown his way, even if it's way off-target or he has to eat contact. Another part of his game that doesn't line up with the testing is his short-area quickness and agility; Dotson's three-cone time was horrible, yet on film he has no trouble at all throttling up and down on routes and making defenders miss.
With the ball in his hands, Dotson is very effective and combines excellent vision with the long speed needed to outrun defenses. He's not an over-the-top burner, but he is a guy that defenses need to respect down the field, and that opens up the medium and short areas where he's really able to thrive. Drags and now screens should be utilized to get him the ball quickly and allow him to eat up 6-8-yard chunks consistently.
Dotson played on the outside for the Nittany Lions, but at 178 pounds, he may be relegated to the slot in the pros, and that's okay. It's a starting position in today's NFL (yes, even for a coach who supposedly loves 12 personnel - we'll see how the usage splits change with QB and WR room revamps) and can be a very effective and dangerous role with the right talent in that spot.
Dotson's ability to create separation quickly and stay with a play during the scramble drill would pair well with Deshaun Watson's mobility and developing contentment with taking easy throws while extending a play. If Dotson is playing the slot while Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones man the boundaries, the Browns will have a vastly improved WR room over the group they trotted out last season.
Perhaps the Browns end up going with a defensive lineman at #44, but if Dotson is there, it would be difficult to pass on adding him to the new-look offense.
