The Commanders play their preseason finale on Saturday night, and that will be the final tune-up before the official NFL debut of first-round pick Jahan Dotson. On Thursday, Dotson joined Grant & Danny to talk about his journey so far, which has been an adjustment, to say the least.
“It’s pretty cool, living out my dream, taking it day by day and realizing that I’m truly blessed to have this opportunity,” he said. “But it’s how much time is invested into football – I’m a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college, so school was always a thing, and here you substitute that with football. Every day you’re in the building 12 hours a day, straight football, so you have to really love the game and what you do.”
Many thought the Commanders drafting Dotson was a means to a potential future without Terry McLaurin, but McLaurin is now in the fold long-term, and he has been a great role model for the rookie.
“Just how to be a professional. He comes in every day, takes care of himself and his body, and he works hard – never takes a play or a rep off,” Dotson said. “As a young guy, you can learn just by watching, but he’s very hands-on, too; he’ll tell me if I’m doing something well, or if I’m doing something wrong, he’ll tell me and let me know how to fix it.”
And he’s always working, because the goal is constant improvement.
“For me, it’s always been be better than I was yesterday, I constantly want to improve every day. I don’t want to have to have coaches tell me something twice. It’s about reaching the next step and being the best version of myself every day so I can help this team win. I don’t set out to have specific personal goals, I just want to be the best player possible.”
So what is he looking to improve on?
“My route-running; that’s something receivers cherish, and it’s truly an art,” he said. “You can work your route-running in any way, and I’m learning things from the guys here and learning how to play much faster than I did in college and put tempo on my routes when I need to.”
Having three different offensive coordinators at Penn State meant that Dotson pretty much learned the entire route tree, so he’s comfortable “opening up that toolbox” so far in D.C. But if he had one highlight, one rep, one route to show?
“I would definitely say choice route, where I can break in, break out, or sit down – it just shows my speed and my versatility to play with tempo and get the defender off-balance, and then my IQ,” he said. “I’ve played football a long time and believe I have a good feel for the game, so I can show that in my choice routes where I can feel leverage and know what I need to do.”
