Ah, the time-honored “rookie dinner.” A meal that could cost first-year guys upwards of 65 grand is very well what Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool and his fellow rookie class could be facing this weekend.
Claypool has since removed the actual tweet he posted Thursday — he may have gotten a lot of heat for the large gathering that team dinners entail — so we’re thankful to Sunday Night Football for grabbing it.
In jest, Chase tagged the Titans, asking them to pay up for this weekend’s annual rookie dinner.
As we all know by now, there was a COVID outbreak in Tennessee Titans camp that started Tuesday and has gotten worse by the day.
Steelers Wire reported Tuesday that outside linebacker Alex Highsmith agreed to terms on his rookie contract. Highsmith, the Steelers third-round draft pick, was the first of the rookies to agree to terms. He made it official on Thursday by signing on the dotted line.
Here’s a breakdown of his contract, courtesy of Over The Cap.
Guard Kevin Dotson and defensive tackle Carlos Davis are the two remaining rookies who have yet to ink their deals. Expect updates in the coming days.
Every Sunday as a kid, Kevin Dotson sat in his basement surrounded by Steelers memorabilia, cheering on his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Twenty years later, he’s now a member of that very team. Instead of wearing a player’s …
Every Sunday as a kid, Kevin Dotson sat in his basement surrounded by Steelers memorabilia, cheering on his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Twenty years later, he’s now a member of that very team. Instead of wearing a player’s jersey as a Steelers fan, he’ll be wearing his own jersey as a Steelers player.
Dotson was just two days old when his favorite player, Jerome Bettis, suited up for his third game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Dotson was 10 when he watched Bettis play in the first Steelers Super Bowl of his young life.
One of the many things Dotson inherited from his father, Kelcy, was a passion for Steelers football. He quickly understood what it meant to be part of Steeler Nation — fans who love their team’s winning mentality and hard-nosed battles on the gridiron. “Somebody like The Bus running eight people over, running over the team’s best player,” Dotson said. “And Hines Ward, he wasn’t just catching the ball, he was coming across the middle of the field and laying players out.”
Only quarterback Ben Roethlisberger remains from those teams he grew up watching. “That’s another thing that’s been crazy for me. When I was just a kid, I thought, I’m going to block for Big Ben when I get older. But now I actually get to do it. So, this is going to be one of those dreams to get to play with people that youāve looked up to for pretty much your entire life.”
Dotson’s road to Pittsburgh started at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was part of the Ragin’ Cajuns offensive line. Future NFL guards, Donovan Williams and Mykhael Quave had a grip on the guard positions, so Dotson redshirted his 2015 freshman season and served as a member of the scout team. “[Williams and Quave] were there for five years and won four bowl rings,” Dotson said. “So, there’s no way I was going get in there and start. I wish I did my research on thatā¦ But once the next year came along, I said, ‘There is no way I’m sitting on the bench again.'”
And Dotson made (beyond) good on that statement. He earned the starting job at right guard the second week of the 2016 season, where he entrenched himself for the remainder of his collegiate career. Dotson quickly became a well-respected leader on the team, and his 52 consecutive starts were the second-most by any offensive lineman by 2019.
When asked where Dotson got that grit, he didn’t hesitate. “I get it mostly from my dad. Since I was young, he taught me if youāre hurt, you get up; if youāre injured, then youāre down. So, thereāve been a lot of games that Iāve been hurt. I feel like Iāve been hurt enough to get out of the game, but I knew I could keep playing. So, I always kept playing.”
Dotson has athleticism in his blood. Kelcy played outside linebacker at Louisiana, and his late mother, Denise, was a sprinter. His uncles, Alvin and Dennis McKinley played for the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. Alvin’s six seasons with the Browns included 12 games against the Steelers, one of which was a 36-33 loss in the Wild Card round of the 2003 playoffs when McKinley sacked Tommy Maddox for a five-yard loss. Alvin also blocked a Todd Peterson field goal in 2002 and an attempt by Jeff Reed in 2006.
Nothing negative
Louisiana was one of the best running teams in FBS Dotson’s senior season. His powerful run-blocking helped pave the way for a ground attack that finished fifth overall nationally. The Ragin’ Cajuns were ranked third nationally in yards per carry (6.28), fourth in rushing touchdowns (42), sixth in rushing yards per game (257.4), seventh in total rushing yards (3,604), and fifth in fewest sacks allowed per game.
Not only was Dotson awarded the prestigious first-team AP All-America honors but also earned spots on the USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus first-team All-American squads.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Dotson
Incredibly, despite his touted career at Louisiana, Dotson was not invited to the NFL Combine. And with his pro day canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, he had to scramble to make up for lost visits. His agent, Martin Fischman, coordinated a local crew to help professionally record credible measurements and combine-like drills. Video footage of height, weight, broad jump, vertical leap, bench press, positional, pass protection, and lateral drills — everything teams’ scouts would typically evaluate at the combine and pro day — were expertly packaged and sent electronically to the masses.
Dotson’s numbers spoke for themselves. His 4.80 40-yard dash would have landed him first among offensive linemen at the combine; 34 bench presses, third; 32-inch vertical, seventh; and his broad jump, 11th.
These unusual circumstances of a global pandemic have caused a shift in how the NFL offseason typically operates. With the travel ban in place and pro days canceled, the Steelers had to rely on tape and word-of-mouth perhaps more than they usually would.
It worked in Dotson’s favor.
“I knew once I watched the tape, this guy was on our list,” Steelers OL coach, Shaun Sarrett, said after the NFL Draft. “The first game I watched him, he popped on film, and then from there, I continued to watch more film, and he just got better and better. The Steelers did a great job of identifying him in the scouting department, and they got him to me, and I watched him, and I agree with them.”
Not only did Dotson shine on game tape, but people who know Dotson best remarked glowingly. “There were no negative things,” said Sarrett. “I kept trying to find something negative about the kid, and I couldnāt find it; talking with people, talking with coaches. Iāve got a lot of texts already from coaches around the league saying thatās a great pick by us by picking this guy.”
Though the Steelers never had the opportunity to give Dotson a physical or work him out before the draft, general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin conversed with him on FaceTime, and the Steelers sent a rep to scout him at the East-West Shrine Bowl.
That virtual pro day may have just sealed the deal for Dotson going to the Steelers in the fourth round. “I don’t know what it was, but I just wasn’t anticipating even getting picked right then and there,” admitted Dotson. “But I felt like I’d done enough to get picked in that round; in my mind, I was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.”
Self-motivated man
So far, this offseason has been a bizarre one for the NFL, and the rookie class has taken the brunt of it. Not only was the glitz and glamor of the draft nonexistent, but instead of the rookie transition program and minicamps, newcomers are faced with virtual learning and Zoom meetings.
Dotson thinks this offseason is going to reveal a lot about the rookie class. “It’s going to make or break a lot of people because a lot of people aren’t self-motivated,” Dotson said. “There is going to be a great divide of who’s really been working and who’s not.”
The young guard counts himself among the former. “That’s one of the things I pride myself on is being self-motivated; I don’t need somebody around to make me work. I’m going to get the work done just to make sure I’m good.”
For Dotson, training hasn’t changed — he knows there’s a gap between being drafted and being a starter and he wants to make sure that gap is filled. “I’ve still been training like I haven’t gotten on the team yet, so I’m training just as hard. I’m working for that spot.”
It’s a tremendous challenge for a rookie to come in and supplant a veteran for a starting position, but no more difficult than this year — players haven’t even met coaches, and the existence of a traditional training camp is still in question.
The challenge certainly doesn’t faze Dotson. If anything, his experience at Louisiana propels him to be a starter in 2020. “I’m not one of those people that came here to sit on the bench. If it comes down to it, I willā¦ just know I’m going to be trying to get on the field every week.”
“I know what type of player you have to be to be an offensive lineman for the Steelers. Itās all what football represents — being a tough guy, being a guy who knows what heās doing, and being able to come off hard every play. So, I guarantee Iāll be that guy for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Dotson injects youth into an offensive line that is the oldest in the league. He represents the first player drafted as the future of the offensive line, and will soon embark on what the Steelers hope will be a decade as a starter.
Whether Dotson sits behind a veteran this season or earns himself a starting position, the Steelers are that much better for having him on the roster.
