Penn State's Jahan Dotson cracks first round of Mel Kiper's latest mock draft
Penn State Nittany Lions wideout Jahan Dotson is projected to go in the back of the first round according to one of the top draft experts.
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper updated his 2022 mock draft on Tuesday morning. He slotted Dotson in at No. 25 overall, heading to the Buffalo Bills in what he called a “luxury pick.”
“Dotson is an explosive playmaker who is a threat to score on every touch,” Kiper wrote.
Dotson seems to be a fixture in the late first-round among many top analysts.
Recently, Pro Football Network projected Dotson to go 30th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs, and CBS slotted him at No. 22 to the Green Bay Packers.
The Bills already employ a true No. 1 wideout in Stefon Diggs, and Gabriel Davis showed extremely well in the playoffs.
Buffalo recently released Cole Beasly, bringing in Jamison Crowder as a replacement.
While the Bills are certainly among the best offenses for Dotson to walk into, he would have to earn his way onto the field on Sundays.
Dotson ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine in Indianapolis. He also posted a 7.28 3-cone drill, 121-inch broad jump and 36-inch vertical jump.
Dotson finished the 2021 season with 1,182 receiving yards in 12 games. He found the end zone 12 times, injecting some much-needed dynamism into the Penn State offense.
Kiper has him as the fifth wide receiver off the board.
Penn State’s spring QB approach
James Franklin acknowledged from the onset the reality of the challenge at hand for Penn State’s quarterbacks this spring.
Welcoming the return of Sean Clifford for his fourth year as a presumed starter, plus the additions of Drew Allar and Beau Pribula on top of Christian Veilleux’s second season in the program, the Nittany Lions have their hands full.
How will Clifford gain the experience of a second season with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich? And how will that balance against the necessity of competition from the younger quarterbacks and getting them prepared to play?
Franklin detailed that conundrum.
“When it comes to young quarterbacks, that’s always the challenge in spring ball is how do you get everybody enough reps to be able to be evaluated and also to be developed?” Franklin asked. “Because it’s not just about the quarterbacks. It’s about, do you have enough depth on the offensive line, do you have enough depth at wide receiver, tight end, so on and so forth. And then also from a defensive perspective.”
The answer, Franklin continued, is to consistently update reps as spring practice rolls along.
“I think that’ll be a big focus. We’ll probably go back and forth with those guys,” Franklin said. “One day, they’ll get reps with the threes. One day, they’ll get reps with the fours, kind of rotating back and forth. And then as this thing adjusts, obviously there could be some opportunities to take reps with the ones with Veilleux and reps with the twos and threes with Pribula and Allar.
“So we’ll see how that whole thing plays out. But right now, that’s been a big emphasis of spring ball is how do we make sure everybody’s getting reps and getting evaluated?”
