Commanders Coach Ron Rivera Knows How 'Dynamic' WR Jahan Dotson Can Be
ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Commanders first-round wide receiver Jahan Dotson set the NFL on fire in his first four games as a pro.
He won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award following a three-catch, 40-yard, two-touchdown debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Then, Dotson followed that up with a 59-yard performance while scoring another touchdown in a loss against the Detroit Lions.
Following a relatively down performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, he seemed to bounce back with a score and 43 yards against he Dallas Cowboys the following game.
But in that Dallas game, he also suffered his first NFL injury and missed the next five games with a bad hamstring.
In the time Dotson missed, Washington changed quarterbacks and started to win.
So when he returned in Week 10 to face the Eagles again, this time in primetime, it was thought he'd give the Commanders' offense some additional juice.
While his team has continued to win, however, the rookie has just two catches, 27 yards, and has not found the endzone since coming back.
And he's only been targeted by quarterback Taylor Heinicke four times.
This has a lot of people wondering where the disconnect is, or if Dotson's role has simply been minimized in this version of offensive coordinator Scott Turner's scheme.
"We're playing a little bit more 12 and 13 personnel, and that's by design," coach Ron Rivera said when asked about the low volume his first-rounder is seeing currently. "So it's going to cut some of those opportunities for Jahan. He's still important and very integral into what we're doing and he's developing and he's growing and we all know he's got the potential to be a very, very good player for us. And it's just a matter of time before you see him start getting some more opportunities."
Fortunately for the Commanders, time is something they actually may have time to give for the Heinicke to Dotson connection to develop.
Because of the current stretch of winning football, Washington is the seventh seed in the NFC Playoff race at the moment and could climb to sixth with a win over the New York Giants this Sunday.
And while Dotson hasn't been statistically involved, his time - as Rivera said - should be coming soon.
Especially as Heinicke and the offense continue to feature a new standout position player on a seemingly weekly basis.
"Obviously we want to give him the ball more, but we're running the ball like we are doing and what Terry's doing, some guys aren't gonna get the ball," Heinicke said on Wednesday. "When you have a bunch of weapons like this, someone's gonna get shorthanded and from week to week it might be one person or another...Every week there's gonna be a guy that doesn't really get the touches that he deserves. But that's a good part about having all the weapons that we have."
Even if you disagree with that stance, it's hard to ignore the results have been successful.
Still, we can't help but wonder if maybe the key to getting the Commanders' offense over 20 points consistently hinges on finding a way to continue running while unlocking the secret to Heinicke connecting with Dotson - and Curtis Samuel for that matter - as much as he does with McLaurin.
And that could spell success for more players individually, and the team on a much wider scale.
Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82 and on the Locked On Commanders podcast.
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