The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Green Bay Packers need a complete remodel of their wide receiver room. After trading Davante Adams, the best wide receiver in the NFL, for a pair of top 60 picks, the Packers are facing a complete makeover of the position.
As it stands right now the wide receiver depth chart at 1265 Lombardi Avenue consists of Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers. It’s going to be a collective effort to replace Adams as well as Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the vertical threat.
“It’s like fielding a basketball team,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “You don’t want to have too many point guards or too many centers. They all have to be able to play off each other. It’s like putting a puzzle together. You’ve got to find those pieces that you’re missing and put it all together.”
A player that could bring a unique skill set to Green Bay’s offense is Jahan Dotson. The Penn State wide receiver checks in at No. 29 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.
First and foremost: at 5-11 and 178 pounds, he may not even be on Green Bay’s board. Dotson may be viewed as a “smaller” wide receiver, but he plays bigger than his frame.
“He’s not a wide receiver whose size stands out to you, in either direction, when you’re watching him play,” Daniel Gallen, the Penn State beat writer for PennLive.com, said. “But I think some of his testing numbers from the NFL Combine showed he has a strong lower body. He was solid in the vertical and broad jumps. After Pro Day, he said his goal was to show NFL teams his strength, and he felt like he did that with 15 bench press reps, a mark that would have been second at the combine.”
Dotson is one of the most decorated wide receivers in Penn State history. The former four-star recruit finished his career third in program history in receiving touchdowns (23), fourth in receiving yards (2,620) and fourth in receptions (175).
This past season Dotson hauled in 91 receptions for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns. Dotson set the single-game receiving yard record against Maryland in November. The New Jersey native recorded 11 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
“Dotson had one of the more impressive individual receiving seasons in Penn State history from a statistical perspective,” Gallen said. “All three of those marks rank second in single-season history at Penn State. But it wasn’t just the numbers, it was how Dotson did it. He was really the only consistent threat on the whole Nittany Lions offense this season. Quarterback Sean Clifford was banged up in the second half, the running game was nonexistent and while sophomore receivers Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith flashed some talent, they didn’t quite have the same level of consistency. So Dotson was always going to be the top priority for defenses week-in and week-out, and he still delivered.”
Dotson has reliable hands. He climbs the ladder and goes up and gets the ball. Despite his lack of size, he does a great job of winning at the catch point. According to Pro Football Focus, Dotson was targeted 138 times this past season and only had two drops.
“Dotson caught anything that was thrown in his direction,” Gallen said. “His catch against Auburn off of what appeared to be Clifford overthrew is one of the more impressive catches I’ve ever seen in person, and his touchdown catches in the end zone against Auburn and Indiana showed strong hands while extending to pull the ball.”
The Penn State wide receiver is a playmaker. He has easy speed and plays faster than his 4.43 40-time. In his final 21 games, he accounted for 21 touchdowns. In 2020, Dotson recorded four receptions that went for over 40 yards. For his career, he had six receiving touchdowns that were 60-yards or longer.
“Dotson has impressive long speed and plays bigger than his frame, thanks to his natural ball-tracking skills and his stellar body control,” Chris Trapasso, the NFL Draft analyst for CBS sports said. “He’ll go up and get it.”
Dotson wins off the line of scrimmage with his easy accelerator and twitchy feet. He explodes in and out of his breaks to create separation. He shows good burst on vertical routes to create late separation.
“Dotson’s a solid route-runner,” Gallen said. “I think some of that got a little lost with Clifford’s occasional accuracy issues, but Dotson was usually in the place he needed to be, and he was usually open.”
Dotson erases pursuit angles with his ability to go from zero-to-60 in a blink of an eye. He’s shifty in space and has great vision. According to PFF, Dotson averaged over five yards after the catch this past season.
“Dotson is great with the ball in his hands,” Gallen said. “He’s got the speed to run away from defenders, but he’s also got the agility to navigate his way through traffic. He’s got good vision to make cuts and avoid defenders. He can definitely be a high-YAC guy at the next level.”
Dotson is a dynamic return man. In 2020 he set the program record for punt return average in a season (24.6 yards per return). There is no doubt that the Penn State wide receiver would give Green Bay’s return game a much-needed shot in the arm.
Fit with the Packers
The Packers historically have had a lot of success drafting wide receivers in the second round. It was Ted Thompson’s bread and butter. Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Cobb and Adams were all second-round selections by the late Thompson.
If Dotson is on the board when the Packers are on the clock with the 53rd pick, Gutekunst could start his own tradition of taking wide receivers in the second round.
If the Packers believe Dotson can be an impactful player despite his “lack of size” it would not be shocking to see Green Bay’s general manager pull the trigger on the talented Penn State wide receiver.
“You’re always bigger, stronger, faster if you can be,” Gutekunst said during the 2020 scouting combine. “But it’s always about the football player and whether they can play. Every player has different attributes that makes them who they are, and if a guy doesn’t have the height that we certainly would like, but he makes up for in other ways. I don’t think we wouldn’t draft a player because he wasn’t tall enough.”
If the Packers were to take the field today, Lazard would be the team’s number one wide receiver. They need a complete makeover at the position.
Dotson may not be the “biggest” wide receiver in terms of weight, but he’s an electric playmaker. He has the quickness and leaping ability to win vertically. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands. On top of all that he brings special teams value as a return man.
“I would draft Dotson because he has the potential to be a productive, big play wide receiver at the next level,” Gallen said. “Depending on personnel that is already in place, he could help stretch the field to open things up underneath for his teammates, or he could operate in that space out of the slot. He believes he can play anywhere in an offense, and I tend to agree with that. A creative head coach should be able to do wonders with him.”
Trapasso recently mocked Dotson to the Packers with the 28th overall pick. I asked Trapasso what Dotson could bring to Green Bay’s offense.
“A three-level weapon for Aaron Rodgers from the slot or on the perimeter,” Trapasso said. “Dotson is a high-floor player, so he’d come in right away and contribute as a rookie.”
