PHILADELPHIA -- There was already some familiarity with the Philadelphia Eagles when Jahan Dotson joined the team last week. Dotson and Saquon Barkley knew each other during their separate times at Penn State, making the acclimation to his new team that much easier.
Dotson had another connection with the Eagles prior to the team acquiring him. A.J. Brown trained with Dotson in the offseason, already knowing what the former first-round pick brings to the table.
"He reached out to my trainer, and my trainer asked me," Brown said. "Like, it's a 1-on-1 thing with me and my trainer, and he reached out to my trainer. He's a great person, and he works extremely hard. He's a great route runner, a hard worker. So that's all I care about. He's a hard worker."
Brown and Dotson have been training together a few years, which started with Dotson reaching out to Joey Guarascio -- who also trains Brown. Now the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Florida Atlantic, Guarascio was an assistant at Ole Miss when Brown played there. The two connected in Florida working out one day and built a relationship from there.
"Just going against him in Washington, he would always make some good plays," Brown said. "He runs really good routes, and he was still early on in his career. You could still see that he was developing, still learning the game.
"So when my trainer told me, 'That's Jahan from Washington,' I was like, 'Oh, OK.' And then it just kind of progressed from there."
The relationship with Brown benefitted Dotson, who will get to learn even more from him now that they are together everyday in Philadelphia.
"The biggest thing is competing with him," Dotson said. "I can't do some of the things that AJ can do, obviously, he's physically gifted. But any chance I get in pushing myself in competing with him is fun, and it's good, because he's one of the best to do it in this league.
"So, competing with him and stepping up to the plate every single day I come into work training-wise, it was fun. I looked forward to it every day. He pushed me and I pushed him, so it was cool."
If Brown had any influence on the Eagles acquiring Dotson, he gave the front office a good recommendation.
"I don't let people train with me, honestly, and I let him train with me," Brown said. "So that should tell you everything you need to know."
