5 Washington Commanders players looking for redemption in 2024

Jahan Dotson - Commanders WR

Jahan Dotson was poised for a breakout season in 2023. Like so much of last year’s campaign, it turned into a major disappointment.

As a rookie in 2022, the former first-round draft pick found the end zone seven times despite missing five games due to injury. Dotson posted a very respectable 14.9 yards-per-catch as well as an 8.6 yards-per-target. Those numbers all suggested the Washington Commanders had found a big-play receiving complement to Terry McLaurin.

Dotson regressed across the board in 2023. Despite playing five more games, he scored just four touchdowns. Scores can be a fluky stat. McLaurin has never scored a lot of touchdowns. Future Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Julio Jones has only managed nine in the past four seasons.

What is more distressing about Dotson’s 2023 performance was how much his yards-per-catch and yards-per-target dropped - to 10.6 and 6.2 respectively. Those numbers would be acceptable for a running back or tight end. But for a prominent wideout with the obvious ability to stretch the field, they are very poor.

Dotson will always be tied to New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave.

Washington could have selected the Ohio State product in 2022 but chose to trade their pick to the Saints, who snapped him up. During their respective rookie seasons, Dotson posted numbers that were similar to Olave’s. But the New Orleans speedster continued to perform at a high-level last year, while the ex-Penn State playmaker disappeared for large stretches of the campaign.

In No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, the Commanders boast the best quarterback prospect they have had in a decade. Early reports have been highly encouraging. Hopefully, Dotson will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of improved play from Washington's new signal-caller.

If so, Dotson looks poised to have the season in 2024 that many of the Commanders' long-suffering fanbase expected last time around.