WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The Washington Commanders used a first round pick in 2022 on wide receiver Jahan Dotson with the hopes of pairing him with Terry McLaurin to make a dynamic 1-2 punch in the wide receiver room.
Dotson's rookie season was limited to just 12 games due to injury, but the former Penn State product still managed to tie Packers receiver Christian Watson for the most touchdowns by a rookie receiver last year with seven, along with 523 receiving yards.
Dotson expects to be even better in 2023, and in fact he believes he's coming into his breakout season.
“This year I feel like I gotta come crazy,” Dotson said on The 2nd wind podcast. "It’s my breakout year, it’s what I’ve working hard for. I gotta make ‘em feel me.”
Locked on Commanders host David Harrison looked at the likelihood of Dotson breaking out, while also attempting to define what a breakout would look like, on a recent episode of the podcast.
"To a certain extent 'breakout season' can be in the eye of the beholder," Harrison said. "Some of it will be statistical and some of it will be impact on the team...there is no defined metric for a breakout season."
Dotson's numbers last year had him right around a top-75 wide receiver in the NFL, although missing five games certainly detracted from his overall production.
A full healthy season from Dotson could easily result in over 900 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns, numbers that would appear to be a breakout caliber performance - depending on who is evaluating.
Ultimately, Commanders fans will take a healthy and improved campaign from Dotson, especially if it takes some pressure off McLaurin and makes this team more dynamic and versatile offensively in 2023.