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- Jahan Dotson had no idea when he was going to be drafted.
- He didn’t even know when it happened because he wasn’t watching.
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Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson was expected to hear his name called in the late first round of early second round of the NFL Draft. In the end, he heard his name called exactly halfway through the first round.
Well, not exactly. Dotson actually did not hear his name called at all because he straight-up was not watching.
Of the players that were in attendance at the Draft in Las Vegas, Dotson was not one of them. Despite not being there in person, one would assume that a player that who expects to be a Day 1 or Day 2 pick would have the coverage on his TV at home.
Dotson did not. He had no idea that he was picked No. 16 overall until Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera called his cellphone.
Upon answering, Dotson found out that he was about to be picked. In fact, Rivera’s call actually interrupted what his new wide receiver was doing instead of watching the draft.
Washington Commanders first-round pick Jahan Dotson, on getting the call from Ron Rivera: “honestly, I was watching the Suns-Pelicans game on my phone.”
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) April 29, 2022
It’s not like Dotson grew up as a huge Suns or Pelicans fan. He’s from New Jersey. He simply chose not to watch the draft.
Not only did Dotson have no idea that he was drafted, he admitted that he was surprised.
“I had no idea where I was going to go (in the NFL Draft),” Dotson said. “We were kind of thinking later first (or) early second…I’m just happy that I got picked by the Washington Commanders and (I’m) ready to get to work.”
In four years at Penn State, Dotson caught 183 balls for 2,757 yards and 25 touchdowns. 20 of those six-point snags came as an upperclassman.