Eagles' Jahan Dotson earns Jalen Hurts' trust ahead of Commanders game

When Jahan Dotson was traded from the Commanders to the Eagles on August 22, he didn’t have much time to process the trade.

“I had about a three-hour drive to get over it,” Dotson said Tuesday. “I was able to do that and move on.”

While the Eagles face Dotson’s former team on Thursday, the former first-round pick insists this matchup has no extra meaning for him. He just tries to treat it like any other week.

He said he didn’t even have this match circled on his calendar.

“The most important thing is the most important thing,” Dotson said. “Come out on top and get a W.”

Sound familiar?

Those are words we’ve heard Jalen Hurts say countless times during his time as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, so it’s no surprise to hear Dotson parrot them. It actually makes a lot of sense when you think about the past two weeks because Dotson and Hurts were on the same page.

Dotson gains his quarterback’s trust.

“Everything will come in time,” Hurts said of Dotson this week. “It comes with reps, it comes with conversation and communication. Obviously, if you can take advantage of those matchups and take advantage of those opportunities, it seems like you’re going to be in more of those matches.

Dotson hasn’t been extremely productive this season. In nine games he has just 8 catches for 98 yards. But it appears he and Hurts are starting to turn a corner after making explosive plays in back-to-back weeks.

Against the Jaguars, Dotson made an acrobatic 36-yard catch and then against the Cowboys, Hurts hit Dotson with a 27-yard back-shoulder throw. A shoulder throw is all about confidence.

“Great confidence, great execution,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “I think it shows Jahan, we would all like to see every guy get a bunch of catches every game because we think the world of all these guys. And for him to hang in there and then make two big catches, each in the last two weeks, I think that comes from his consistency and his willingness to keep working. And Jalen’s confidence to let it go. We will continue to give him those opportunities.”

Dotson’s catch came in the second quarter on a 2nd and 8. Hurts saw a single-high safety look and trusted Dotson in a 1-on-1 situation.

The big key in this piece was trust.

“He just believed in me, that I would be in the right place,” Dotson said. “I trusted him to put the ball in the right place. We have made a connection. That’s quite simple.”

Hurts is big on building trust with his receivers. That’s why he gets them together for offseason organizing and that’s why he always brings up an old recruiting visit with DeVonta Smith as the origin story for their report. He doesn’t have much of a history with Dotson, so the two have done their best to pick up extra reps.

Shortly after the trade, Dotson and Hurts stayed back at the Linc after a workout at the stadium to work on their timing together. That process of building trust has continued throughout the season.

But as is often the case in practice, Dotson knows he has to earn his quarterback’s trust during games. He certainly has done that over the past two weeks.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Dotson said. “The fact that I make plays obviously helps with that. He feels he can trust me when he puts the ball near me. I trust him to put it somewhere where I can make a play. I know I can make a play. I know I am capable of that. It grows every day.”

On a team with AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley, there aren’t many leftover touches. While it’s a nice idea to have a productive WR3, that guy isn’t going to be a high-volume player.

That’s why it’s so important for Dotson to make the most of the opportunities he gets on offense.

“That’s always difficult, because you have to take advantage of the opportunities you get,” said head coach Nick Sirianni. “Jahan is used to five, six, seven goals per game in college and even in Washington. Maybe you only get one, two, three goals per game here. What are you going to do with those opportunities?”

The Commanders selected Dotson with the No. 16 overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Penn State and he had decent production in his two years in Washington, racking up over 500 yards receiving in 2022 and 2023. But by the summer, with a new coaching staff in place, it was clear that Dotson had fallen out of favor before the trade.

Dotson says he’s not surprised by the success the commanders have had this year. But he’s excited for what should be a great game on Thursday Night Football.

“Yes, they have a lot of great players and a lot of great coaching,” Dotson said. “So it’s exciting to see what they do and create some sort of match in the division between two very good football teams. It’s exciting. It wasn’t a surprise to me because I got to see the work those guys did behind closed doors. I wasn’t surprised at all, but it’s going to be a fun Thursday.”