Jahan Dotson was traded to Philadelphia with the expectation from fans and media that the former Penn State star and Washington draft pick would flourish as the Eagles’ third wide receiver.
Playing alongside A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, it was assumed that Dotson would eat from the slot, blinding his versatility into the Birds’ explosive offense.
Through eight weeks of football and seven games played, Dotson has just six receptions and hasn’t had a catch in the last two games. In the win over the Bengals last Sunday, Dotson played the first game in his NFL career without a single target.
Dotson is “staying patient” and told NBC Sports Philadelphia that this wouldn’t have been the case in his younger years.
“A younger me, I would say 100%,” Dotson said on Wednesday. “But me now, especially with the people I have in my corner, just me always trying to mentally challenge myself to be better and better and better, I feel like I’m in a very good head space where that doesn’t bother me. A younger me, that would have bothered me. I would have been mad.
“But it’s bigger than me at the end of the day. I’m all about team, team, team. And whatever I can do to help this team win football games, I’m going to do. Whether that be 0 targets, whether that be 15 targets, whether that be the game-winning block, whether that be two plays. I’m going to try to do it to the best of my ability to help this team win.”
He’s playing for a Super Bowl contender, but through seven games this season, Dotson has just six catches for 35 yards.
Dotson, 24, was a 2022 first-round pick from Penn State, and he had 49 catches for 518 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.
Last season, Dotson logged 35 catches for 523 yards and seven touchdowns.