Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
Former first-rounder Jahan Dotson, who was one of the biggest fantasy disappointments of the 2022 NFL season, found a new home Thursday when the Commanders traded him and a fifth-round pick for a third and two sevenths, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dotson started hot as a rookie, gaining 523 yards and scoring 7 times despite only 61 targets and 35 receptions in 12 games. After plenty of hype entering his sophomore season, Dotson let his drafters down, playing all 17 games and getting 83 targets but falling to 518 yards and 4 touchdowns. His yards per route run fell from 1.5 as a rookie to 0.9 last year, per the FTN Fantasy StatsHub. After reports out of Washington camp that he wasn’t guaranteed a role for 2024, the team made the move Thursday.
In Philadelphia, Dotson should immediately slot in as the WR3 on a team that didn’t have an obvious one. That’s not likely to be a valuable role, given the presence of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as receivers, plus TE Dallas Goedert and new RB Saquon Barkley. Barring an injury in Philadelphia, Dotson isn’t a candidate to be on fantasy rosters.
Back in Washington, Dotson’s departure opens up a big hole behind veteran WR Terry McLaurin in the depth chart. The team drafted Luke McCaffrey in the second round of this year’s draft, and Olamide Zaccheaus and Dyami Brown have drawn positive murmurs in camp. The biggest winner of the move is probably McLaurin, who is a candidate to lead the league in target share in 2024, but McCaffrey is an interesting draft-and-stash for those who can wait for him to develop later in the season, and Brown or Zaccheaus (probably Brown) will get enough targets early in the season to be fringe desperation plays.
