Jahan Waltè Dotson ( ; born March 22, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

and was selected by the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

in the first round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

. Dotson was traded to the Eagles in 2024.

Early life

Dotson was born on March 22, 2000, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, and grew up in nearby East Orange, before moving to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He attended Nazareth Area High School in

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 a ...

in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

region of eastern

. He left for

Peddie School The Peddie School is a non-denominational, coeducational college preparatory school located on a campus in Hightstown, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA that serves boarding and day students in the ninth through twelfth grades, as well as po ...

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Cent ...

, for his junior year but then returned to Nazareth High School for his senior year in 2017. He set school career records at Nazareth for most receptions (187), most receiving yards (2,755), and most

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

(40). Dotson originally committed to play

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

but later rescinded his commitment to play for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

College career

Dotson appeared in eight games for the

as a freshman in the 2018 season and made four starts, recording 13 receptions for 203 yards. As a sophomore in the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, Dotson started all 13 games and had 27 receptions for 488 yards and five touchdowns. In the 2020 season, as a junior, Dotson was Penn State's leading receiver. Against the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

, Dotson recorded eight catches for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, Dotson became the third

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

player since 2000 to have a punt return touchdown and 100 receiving yards in the same game. Dotson finished the 2020 season with 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, and was named third-team All-Big Ten for the season. As a senior in the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, Dotson recorded 11 receptions for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns in Penn State's win over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, breaking Deon Butler's school record for receiving yards in a game. In December 2021, announced his intention to enter the

. In May 2022, he graduated from Penn State with a degree in telecommunications. Dotson finished his Penn State career second in school history in both career (183) and single-season (91 in 2021) receptions, fourth in career receiving yards (2,757), second in single-season receiving yards (1,182 in 2021), and second in both career (25) and single-season (12 in 2021) touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Washington Commanders

Dotson was selected by the

in the first round (16th overall) of the

. The team originally had the 11th selection before trading down and picking up third and fourth round picks later in the draft. Dotson signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $15 million, on May 18, 2022. In Dotson's debut in week 1 of the 2022 season, Dotson helped lead the Commanders to victory over the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, catching three passes for 40 yards and two touchdowns; he was named the week 1 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. In week 4, Dotson suffered a hamstring injury in the Commanders loss to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. The injury sidelined him for five games, but he returned in week 10 against the

. He was again named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week in week 15 after catching four passes for 105 yards and a touchdown against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Dotson finished his inaugural 2022 season with the Commanders with 35 receptions for 523 yards and seven touchdowns. In week 8 of the 2023 season, against the Eagles, Dotson had eight receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown in the loss. In his second year, Dotson played in all 17 games, catching 49 balls for 518 yards and four touchdowns.

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 22, 2024, the Commanders traded Dotson and a fifth-round pick to the

in exchange for a conditional third-round pick (higher of Eagles or

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

) and two seventh-round picks in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

. In the 2024 season, he had 19 receptions for 219 yards. He had a receiving touchdown in the Eagles' 22–10 win over the Packers in the Wild Card Round. In

Super Bowl LIX Super Bowl LIX was an American football championship game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2024 NFL season, 2024 season. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII two years prior, the National Football Conf ...

, he had two receptions for 42 yards in the Eagles' 40–22 championship-clinching win over the Chiefs. The first of his two catches, a 27-yard first quarter reception, had initially appeared to be a touchdown, but a subsequent booth review determined Dotson to be just short of the goal line. Nonetheless, it would set up a one-yard touchdown run by eventual

Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers and broadcaster ...

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

on the very next play for the game's first score en route to Philadelphia's victory.

NFL career statistics

Postseason

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dotson, Jahan 2000 births American football wide receivers Living people Nazareth Area High School alumni Peddie School alumni Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from Nazareth, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from East Orange, New Jersey Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey Sportspeople from Northampton County, Pennsylvania Washington Commanders players