Former Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson has been selected by the Washington Commanders in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Dotson is the first Penn State receiver to go in the first round since Bryant Johnson in 2003 and just the second to go since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1990.
The last Penn State receiver to get drafted was Dotson’s friend and former teammate, KJ Hamler, who went to the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2020 draft.
Dotson had an impressive career at Penn State and finished it second in school history in career receptions and fourth in receiving yards. He also has the single-game school record for receiving yards, which he set Nov. 6 at Maryland with 242 yards and three touchdowns.
Pro Football Focus’ Cris Collinsworth said that he thinks will “catch 100 balls in the league at some point.”
Dotson has been widely praised for his hands, but is also known for what he can do after the catch.
“When I get the ball in my hands, it’s exciting,” Dotson said at his NFL Combine press conference this March. “I’m an explosive player, very fast, I can take the top off the defense. I’m just ready to make the most of this opportunity whenever I land.
He’s landed in Washington, where he’ll be catching passes from Carson Wentz, who the team traded for this offseason. Dotson was the fifth receiver taking in this years draft, succeeding USC’s Drake London, Ohio State’s Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson and Alabama’s Jameson Williams.
