Twice in a span of three days after the preseason opener, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell openly called out for someone to step up in the competition for the final couple spots on the wide receiver depth chart.
Saturday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be a critical point in that position battle. The failure or someone to assert himself stands to push the Lions toward making a move to add someone, to whatever degree that might be.
In the Washington Commanders' preseason opener, wide receiver Jahan Dotson surprisingly played a lot (32 offensive snaps). It's easy to anoint him as Washington's No. 2 wide receiver, but this week head coach Dan Quinn seemed to confirm there's legitimate position battle going on there.
"I would say we are right in the middle of it . You'll see a lot of guys in today . You'll see two, three, four, five. There's a lot of guys who are really battling. I've been really impressed with Olamide . I think he's had a really strong camp. Looking forward to getting Luke some extra work. Jahan . Dyami . So that's where we're at, and then the special teams is gonna factor into that as well."
Fresh WR trade target seems to be emerging for the Lions
Over two seasons since the Commanders took him 16th overall in the 2022 draft, Jahan Dotson has been pretty underwhelming. The promise he showed with seven touchdowns over 12 games as a rookie faded into lower yardage and 14 more catches over a full 17 games last year. This is a big year for him, and apparently he's not yet separated himself from a rookie and two milquetoast others in the WR2 battle.
Dotson, via Sam Fortier of the Washington Post, acknowledged his situation in the vein of there being a new regime in Washington.
"DQ didn’t draft me, Each and every year … in your profession, you got to prove yourself. You got to prove what you’re worth and what you’re capable of doing. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Dotson split his reps pretty evenly between outside and in the slot in Washington's first preseason game, and it seems more of the same is coming Saturday night against the Miami Dolphins.
Reading the tea leaves, however it might feel aggressive, NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal went all the way to speculate about Dotson's future in Washington.
the more Commanders coaches talk, the more I wonder if Jahan Dotson is on their Week 1 roster
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) August 16, 2024
It's a large 'if' right now, but Dotson would have multiple teams interested in him if he were available. The Commanders being willing to part with him should not be something that limits his market.
From a Lions' perspective, Dotson (5-foot-11, 182 pounds) is a close physical replica to both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond. A knock on him has been play strength, but he's a great route runner and his catch radius is fine. There's a place for him in the Detroit receiving corps, should a spot look to be open.
If someone (Donovan Peoples-Jones, Daurice Fountain, etc.) does not stand out against the Chiefs, it'll still be worth wondering how aggressive the Lions would be to try to add a wide receiver. There are potential better fits out there on the trade market, but Dotson can be added to the list of possible targets based on way things are going for him.