Despite re-signing wide receiver A.J. Green to a one-year deal late last week, the Arizona Cardinals are rightfully continuing to search for long-term help at the position.
A name many Cardinals fans may not have heard of a month ago has exponentially increased in draft stock. Jahan Dotson out of Penn State has seen his draft stock increase dramatically, projected by many to now be a late first-round pick.
The former Nittany Lion had 91 receptions for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final season with the university. He emerged as one of the premier wideouts in the Big 10, earning an 87.5 grade from Pro Football Focus, which is the highest grade given to an offensive player from Penn St. since 2014.
While Dotson is projected by some to be an excellent slot receiver at the next level, he was primarily an outside threat during his time at Penn St. He did spend time at all three primary positions, those being the slot, the X and the Z. His positional flexibility would allow Kliff Kingsbury to create different packages week-by-week based on the weaknesses of opposing defenses.
Listed at 5-11, Dotson doesn’t possess the height the Cardinals have sought in the past few seasons, but his high separation rates make him an intriguing fit nonetheless. When DeAndre Hopkins went down with an injury, the offense struggled heavily to get separation against press coverage.
Given the recent hype about the top receiver prospects going earlier in the draft than originally anticipated, Dotson makes a lot of sense for the Cardinals.
Dotson has been heavily linked to the team, particularly by Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager.
Schrager has been money in accurately predicting the Cardinals’ first round picks, based on his mock drafts. In his final mock draft over the past three seasons, he had the team selecting Kyler Murray, Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins. It’s always worth paying attention to his mock drafts, especially given his history and close relationship with Kingsbury.
An NFC executive sat down with FanSided a few months back and raved about Dotson’s ability.
“I saw him catch one of those smoke routes…and he made three guys miss, they couldn’t even touch him. He looked like Barry Sanders.”
Jahan Dotson uses his head/eyes within his routes as well as any WR this class… Technician at creating space for himself pic.twitter.com/TbYW5oYsVC
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) April 18, 2022
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