Aside from their decision to sign Tua Tagovailoa, the Jahan Dotson deal was the biggest move the Atlanta Falcons made in the opening wave of free agency. Hopefully the former first-round pick is able to revive his career in Atlanta, since the Falcons are calling upon him to be an immediate starter.
Beyond filling a major need for the Falcons, the Dotson deal also let fans know what to expect in Ian Cunningham's first offseason as GM. Cunningham signed a lot of players not only with ties to the Falcons, but ties to this new regime. But his main goal has been tapping into young talent like Dotson.
The Dirty Birds have been trying their hand at reclamation projects with former draft busts like the 25-year-old, hoping their coaching staff will be able to help turn their careers around. In finding these potential career revivals, Cunningham has been looking for guys who were once high draft picks with untapped potential, which is precisely the archetype in which Dotson fits.
The Falcons are making a concerted effort to add former highly-touted draft picks in free agency
So far, the 40-year-old has been vocal in wanting to add more draft capital, but bringing in players who were once highly drafted is a nice alternative, and a familiar one. Thomas Dimitroff tried the same strategy during the 2020 offseason, when they signed Todd Gurley and traded for Hayden Hurst.
This was when Matt Ryan was still playing and not in the front office, and when the WR room was led by Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Now, the circumstances aren't that different since ex first-rounders Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Michael Penix Jr. headline Atlanta's offensive identity.
The 2022 first-round pick's career got off to a strong start, but when the Commanders traded him to Philadelphia, he was buried in a crowded receiver depth chart. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith. TE Dallas Goedert, and Saquon Barkley were ahead of him in the pecking order, and he was the Eagles' WR3.
Even still,the Penn State product has a high ceiling. He scored 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons and has proven his worth as a deep threat, so perhaps he can make his mark with a larger role and in a better offensive system in Atlanta. But he's not the only player signed making this trend noteworthy.
Cunningham also signed two 2022 third-rounders in Cameron Thomas and Christian Harris and ex-Falcons' third-rounder Austin Hooper. If you throw in Tagovailoa, that's another first-round pick. The only undrafted player the Falcons signed was Olamide Zaccheus, and he spent time with Cunningham in Chicago and is another ex-Falcon.
Signing Dotson doesn't mean they're done adding to the receiver room, but having more trust in him in the starting lineup than Darnell Mooney is telling. And in the case of players like Dotson and Harris, Cunningham's strategy to turn their careers around could end up paying dividends in a major way.