With A.J. Brown’s status still in question, the Eagles will need more from Jahan Dotson and Dallas Goedert

Before the Eagles took the field at the NovaCare Complex for a closed-door walk-through on Wednesday, Jahan Dotson and Jalen Hurts spent some time getting more acquainted. Dotson talked to Hurts about different routes he likes to run, he said.

The duo has been on the field together for just two games and had limited practice time to get a feel for each other after the Eagles acquired Dotson on Aug. 22 to be their third wide receiver. Hurts on Wednesday lamented that limited window, saying: “I hate that we hadn’t been able to put the work in in the offseason and training camp and have time to really develop that chemistry.”

Chemistry is key, Dotson said. Hurts has thrown the ball to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for a few years. With Dotson, it has been less than a month. Hurts can anticipate where Brown and Smith are going to be most times, but with Dotson, it’s still a work in progress.

“I’m not as big as A.J. is. I may not get to spots as fast as him,” said Dotson, who is 5-foot-11, 182 pounds while Brown is 6-1, 226. “Short-area routes, maybe I get to a spot faster than he does.”

That chemistry, or lack thereof, has come to the forefront as the Eagles are without Brown, who missed Monday’s loss to Atlanta with a hamstring injury and was estimated as a nonparticipant in Wednesday’s walk-through. The Eagles nearly won without Brown on Monday, but it involved a heavy reliance on Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and Smith. This — Brown being out with an injury — is why the Eagles traded a 2025 third-round pick and two seventh-round picks to acquire Dotson and a fifth-round pick. They lacked depth at the position, and Dotson, the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Penn State, was brought in to rectify that problem.

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But even with Brown out Monday, Dotson caught just one pass on one target for 6 yards, and was targeted just once in their Week 1 win in Brazil.

Tight end Dallas Goedert, meanwhile, made three catches on just four targets. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni will repeat ad nauseam that his team’s passing game goes through Brown, Smith, and he always makes sure to include Goedert, but the Eagles struggled to get the ball in Goedert’s hands Monday night, an issue that has popped up from time to time in the past.

“The ball wasn’t coming my way last week, but I feel like we were moving the ball pretty well on offense,” Goedert said.

Asked if he expected to be more involved, Goedert said: “I’d like to, but it’s all dependent on the game plan, how the defense is playing me, and what plays get called. Whatever play is called, I’m going to try my best to either get open, or if we’re running the ball I’m going to try to spring Saquon, or Kenny [Gainwell], or Will [Shipley] as much as I can.

“You can’t control everything. You just got to go out there and do whatever the coaches call and do that to the best of your ability.”

Dotson said he knows the expectations for him are higher both because he’s had more time now with the playbook and because of Brown’s uncertain status.

“It puts a little more responsibility on my plate and I’m up for that,” Dotson said. “That’s the reason they really brought me here. Situations happen like this. I’m going to take that with tremendous pride, battle my butt off, and show these coaches that I’m capable of being that guy.”

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Learning on the fly is not new to Dotson, he said. At Penn State, he had three offensive coordinators and two full-time starting quarterbacks, with another two who made starts as well. In two seasons with the Commanders in the NFL, Dotson had a new coordinator each season, and caught passes from three starting quarterbacks: Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, and Sam Howell.

“People think it’s harder,” Dotson said of all the moving parts. “I think it’s easier because I’m so used to just learning different things. I kind of pick up on tendencies. I’m able to learn things a little bit faster because I’m used to this. I feel like it plays into my hands.”

If Brown can’t go again Sunday in New Orleans, the Eagles may need the ball to find those hands a little more frequently.

The hoarse voice of Hurts after Monday night’s game wasn’t just because of a few outbursts after a couple of big plays, or the apparent postgame talk he had with his teammates following the loss. Hurts said Wednesday that he lost his voice over the weekend because of an illness he was dealing with last week.

Hurts looked much more impactful with his legs, a good sign for the Eagles. He completed 23 of his 30 pass attempts for 183 yards and a touchdown to go with 85 yards on 13 carries, which included a Tush Push touchdown. But despite nearly willing the Eagles to a win, the game ended because Hurts threw the ball into the hands of his opponent.

» READ MORE: The Eagles may have a new-look offense, but their success still hinges on Jalen Hurts protecting the football

The Eagles shouldn’t have been in the position of Hurts needing to drive them into field-goal range late in the fourth quarter, but they did have enough time to get to a comfortable spot for kicker Jake Elliott, especially after Hurts started the final drive with a 13-yard completion to Goedert. The Eagles had 27 seconds and needed another 12 to 15 yards to get into range, and still had a timeout. But Hurts threw a deep pass toward Smith, who was covered. The ball landed in the hands of a waiting Jessie Bates, the Falcons safety.

“Just honestly trying to give a guy a shot to make a play,” Hurts said. “Would have liked to, in that situation of the game, I think just looking back on it, manage the time we had, the opportunity we had, maybe didn’t have to be as aggressive there. We were trying to take a shot down field in that area and didn’t connect.

“I own that.”