Commanders WR Jahan Dotson 'The Guy' in Eric Bieniemy Offense?

Eric Bieniemy has been hired as the new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders and it could mean that receiver Jahan Dotson is set to explode next season.

The Washington Commanders had a disappointing end to the season. After being in a position to secure a playoff berth, Washington faltered down the stretch to miss out.

While the season was a failure, the rise of rookie Jahan Dotson was not. Now, with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy joining Ron Rivera in Washington, could we see Dotson's improvement skyrocket?

Looking back on his rookie season, Dotson played in 12 games and had 35 catches for 523 yards and seven touchdowns. That in itself is a decent first NFL season.

But wait, there's more.

Among other rookies, Dotson more than held his own. He finished fourth in yards per game (43.6), sixth in receptions (35), tied for first in touchdowns (7), and was fifth in receiving yards.

That is something that Bieniemy can work with.

What we have seen from Bieniemy is that he likes to spread the ball around to receivers ... in 2021, Mecole Hardman (83 targets, 59 catches) and Tyreek Hill (111 catches, 159 targets), and in 2022, JuJu Smith-Schuster (101 targets, 78 catches) and Marquez-Valdez Scantling (81 targets, 42 receptions).

So can we expect Dotson to get similar touches in the offense going forward? Just 61 targets came the rookie's way last season, and there is no reason to think he and Terry McLaurin won't improve on their stats.

Dotson could easily double his reception total, which equals 70 receptions for 1,046 yards if we do that math. Given his quickness and speed, Bieniemy could often target Dotson on third down and be seen as the chain mover in the offense.

While just a theory at this point, having an offensive wizard in Bieniemy at the helm, Dotson could vastly improve his output and become "the guy" for Washington. Or, better said, due to Terry's excellence: "the (other) guy.''

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