The Falcons’ preseason opener was ugly, but it still offered one clear takeaway: Atlanta trusts Jahan Dotson exactly where it matters.
In a 27-7 loss to the Broncos, Dotson’s stat line didn’t jump off the page. He didn’t even record a target on the two drives the starters played.
But the usage told the story. Dotson was on the field for 100% of the snaps with the first-team offense, a pretty loud vote of confidence for a player the Falcons signed to a two-year, $15 million deal in free agency.
That contract made him the team’s second-highest paid wide receiver behind Drake London, and Atlanta has treated him like it. Dotson has been one of the more productive receivers in camp, tying for second on the team in receptions, and the preseason opener only reinforced that he’s settled in as the WR2.
There wasn’t much for the passing game to work with anyway. The quarterback play was rough, Tua Tagovailoa was mostly looking Kyle Pitts’ way, and the starters were only out there for two drives.
London played just two snaps, and Bijan Robinson didn’t play at all, so this wasn’t some major test of the full offense. Dotson’s quiet night fits into that context.
Even so, the bigger picture is hard to miss. Atlanta wasn’t really staging a true battle for the WR2 job.
The real competition has been at slot receiver, where Olamide Zaccheus and third-round rookie Zachariah Branch are fighting for the starting role. The outside spots, at least for now, look settled.
Dotson’s appeal is pretty straightforward. The Penn State product has shown he can threaten defenses deep from the outside, which should keep opponents from loading up on London. He’s not a clean separator, but the role he’s stepping into in Atlanta plays to his strengths.
That’s the bet the Falcons made when they brought him in, and so far it looks like they’re getting exactly what they wanted. If Dotson keeps getting the same first-team run he got on Friday, the path is clear: he’s the unquestioned WR2, and now it’s about turning that role into production.
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The temptation is obvious in Atlanta, where any encouraging quarterback glimpse can get wrapped in long-term hope pretty quickly. But Strand still profiles as a developmental project more than an answer to the franchises bigger questions, and the safer read right now is that his rise is about earning a role, not redefining the position room. [Read more 🡒]