Jahan Dotson 'Looks as Solid as Advertised,' Ron Rivera Says

The Washington coach expects Dotson to be the 'tone-setter' of his rookie class.

Washington already had high expectations for Jahan Dotson upon selecting him in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Penn State receiver certainly didn't diminish those expectations during the Commanders' rookie minicamp.

Washington coach Ron Rivera said that Dotson looked "as good as advertised" in his first practices with the team, showing the skills that made him an All-American at Penn State.

"We were real pleased to see what we saw from him," Rivera told reporters in Washington. "I thought he moved around really well.

"... And then Jahan, he's so smooth. He is a really good route-runner, and just watching his natural catching ability, that was kind of cool. It was good to see. It really was."

Washington surprised some fans by drafting Dotson at No. 16 overall, valuing the receiver's dual capacity for consistency and big plays. In his first snaps with the Commanders, Dotson lined up at multiple positions, made his usually smooth catches and demonstrated why Rivera and Washington rated Dotson so highly.

Really like the way Dotson is running so far pic.twitter.com/uTawvFwxuw

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) May 6, 2022

More Dotson route running pic.twitter.com/SQtjQRkcRO

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) May 6, 2022

Rivera said that Dotson, lined with Terry McLaurin and a healthy Curtis Samuel, could energize Washington's offense.

"What I think can happen is, they'll have to spread their defense out even more," Rivera said. "That's what you want when you have playmakers. And everybody's got to understand there's only one ball and it's only gonna get to so many people in the game, but everybody has to do their job. When you got guys with that kind of ability, and I think if they understand just how important it is, I think it'd be a real good thing."

Before sending Dotson to graduate from Penn State this past weekend, Rivera left Dotson with a parting message.

"'Hey, you're the guy that's going to be the tone-setter for this rookie class, so you've got to understand that you have to take the mantle,'" Rivera said. "The other guys, 'Hey, you're here to be part of what we're doing. You're here to develop and grow over a period of time, but for the most part, you're here to be part of what we do, so let's go out and show us what you're capable of and show us why we wanted to draft you.'"

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