• Jahan Dotson loses his sleeper status now that he is with the Philadelphia Eagles: Dotson has shifted from being a potential slot receiver on a team that heavily targets the slot to one of the last options on any given pass play.
• DeVonta Smith could be the big winner in the trade: Smith has excelled in the slot throughout his career, and this move allows him to see more snaps at his optimal position while Dotson lines up out wide.
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Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
What this means for Dotson
This move will hurt Dotson's fantasy value due to the significant increase in target competition.
With the Commanders, his primary competition was Terry McLaurin, who has posted an 82.1 receiving grade over the last two seasons. He also competed for looks with Curtis Samuel, a solid but not exceptional starting wide receiver, and Logan Thomas, who has graded below replacement level in the same period.
Now, Dotson will be the fourth option on passing plays behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert at tight end. As a result, it would likely take an injury to one of the Eagles' other top receivers for Dotson to be fantasy-relevant this year, making him undraftable in most standard fantasy leagues.
What this means for the Eagles receivers
While this won’t mean much for Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown or Dallas Goedert, this could be good news for DeVonta Smith.
Over the last three seasons, Smith has averaged 2.48 yards per route run from the slot compared to 1.65 when lined up out wide. Last season, Olamide Zaccheaus led the Eagles in wide receiver snaps from the slot (304), with Quez Watkins and Julio Jones also playing 100-plus snaps each. None of the other wide receivers in Philadelphia earned a receiving grade above 65.0 from the slot, while Smith graded at 77.7.
The Eagles initially planned for DeVante Parker to be their third wide receiver, but he retired in May. Parker primarily played on the outside, which could have shifted DeVonta Smith to the slot.
Now, it looks like Dotson will be the third receiver for Philadelphia, and he has spent 65% of his career snaps lined up out wide. While the Commanders experimented with him in the slot this preseason, Ainias Smith will likely lead the team in snaps from the slot this season.
The Eagles hired Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator this offseason, which brings an exciting prospect for DeVonta Smith. Moore has a history of success with top wide receivers in his offenses, which could bode well for Smith's continued development and production in Philadelphia.
In Moore's offense, Dallas' CeeDee Lamb typically lined up as the X receiver in the Cowboys' two-receiver sets and in the slot in three-receiver sets, which is the best role for PPR scoring. Lamb finished as the WR19 in 2021 and WR5 in 2022.
Last season, when Moore was with the Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen typically played as the Z in base and then the slot in three-receiver sets, and he finished at WR8. Allen was the X in base at times last season and had the X role in base in past seasons. That role, which Smith hopefully takes on, seems like a clear path to a top-10 season.
What this means for the Commanders receivers
Dotson was never going to take targets away from Terry McLaurin, so the impact on McLaurin should be minimal.
The move does open the door for another player to be fantasy-relevant in Washington’s offense. Dyami Brown appears to be the next option at outside wide receiver. Last week, Brown took all the snaps on Washington’s first drive and then exited the game. He now becomes a late-round option in fantasy drafts.
Another question is what do the Commanders do with the slot position. Whoever emerges could earn a lot of targets in the offense. New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was the Arizona Cardinals‘ head coach from 2019-2022. During that time, Cardinals slot receivers combined for 434 caches, the second-most among teams in that time. Most teams in the top five had one clear slot receiver during that time, while the Cardinals had Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and Rondale Moore.
One option is Olamide Zaccheaus, who coincidentally went from the Eagles to the Commanders. As mentioned above, he was the Eagles' primary slot receiver last season. He’s been primarily lined up out wide in the preseason while taking some snaps with the starters, but Washington could move him to the slot.
Jamison Crowder has the second-most slot snaps in the first half of preseason games this season (19). He’s spent a career in that position but is 31 years old. The Commanders also spent a third-round pick on Luke McCaffrey, and to this point, he’s been buried down the depth chart, but this will be an opportunity for McCaffrey to emerge in the offense.
None of the three players should be drafted, but if they take full control of the role, one of them could emerge as a waiver option this season.
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