Am I the Only One Who Thinks Van Jefferson Will be Special?

[NJRamsFan]

From everything I’ve been reading our boy Van is being discussed as an afterthought around here. Essentially, a guy who only offers what Kupp and Woods do, just to a lesser extent. I for one was very encouraged by what I saw from Van in an admittedly small sample size last year. It felt like every time he touched the football I thought to myself “that doesn’t look like a rookie”. He just has a polished smoothness to his game that I don’t see often out of rookies. His routes are CRISP and his body control is of a seasoned vet. I truly believe he will develop into a number 1 WR. Keep in mind not every number 1 WR is DeAndre Hopkins dominant and that’s not the future I am predicting for him. I think he simply got caught behind a deep WR group as a rookie and we had a limited passing game last year. I expect big things from him in the next few years and for him to eventually make either Kupp/Woods a trade asset.


View: https://youtu.be/wf2ci0q6F-w

 

[Memento]

I'm encouraged by Van myself. I think he proves himself as a starter this year and dominates the competition. Let's not forget that Reynolds mostly played over him.. Good post, NJ.

 

[OldSchool]

Love him! But does McVay? He just drafted a half dozen wr/te and signed one in free agency while paying two others top end money. He was 4th on the depth chart last year we lost a WR ahead of him signed a free agent and drafted a guy with the same pick as he was. Is it not valid to question where he fits in among the 6 WR and however many TE we have? Again I loved the kid he was one of my favorite WR prospects last year. But from an outside perspective McVay isn't really giving him a shot of confidence.

 

[Riverumbbq]

While Van may receive fewer snaps than earlier expected due to all our new WR additions, i'm not counting him out by any means. I do believe he will make it easier to swallow should one of Woods or Kupp be injured or later be traded in 2022/23, but he still stands alone as a quality pick, one I certainly prefer over Reynolds. jmo.

 

[payote75]

From everything I’ve been reading our boy Van is being discussed as an afterthought around here. Essentially, a guy who only offers what Kupp and Woods do, just to a lesser extent. I for one was very encouraged by what I saw from Van in an admittedly small sample size last year. It felt like every time he touched the football I thought to myself “that doesn’t look like a rookie”. He just has a polished smoothness to his game that I don’t see often out of rookies. His routes are CRISP and his body control is of a seasoned vet. I truly believe he will develop into a number 1 WR. Keep in mind not every number 1 WR is DeAndre Hopkins dominant and that’s not the future I am predicting for him. I think he simply got caught behind a deep WR group as a rookie and we had a limited passing game last year. I expect big things from him in the next few years and for him to eventually make either Kupp/Woods a trade asset.


View: https://youtu.be/wf2ci0q6F-w

No not all I'm right there with you. I wanted him draft night maybe I'm biased for that reason but I see him and he reminds be of baby reveron Ike!!

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

While Van may receive fewer snaps than earlier expected due to all our new WR additions, i'm not counting him out by any means. I do believe he will make it easier to swallow should one of Woods or Kupp be injured or later be traded in 2022/23, but he still stands alone as a quality pick, one I certainly prefer over Reynolds. jmo.

Ditto. The room is crowded but someone unfortunately has been injured or missed time each year. This year, we have the depth to keep the entire playbook open if that does happen. If Kupp or Woods misses time, Van can fill one of their roles, and if Jackson misses time we have Tutu to stretch the field.

 

[SeminoleRam]

From everything I’ve been reading our boy Van is being discussed as an afterthought around here. Essentially, a guy who only offers what Kupp and Woods do, just to a lesser extent. I for one was very encouraged by what I saw from Van in an admittedly small sample size last year. It felt like every time he touched the football I thought to myself “that doesn’t look like a rookie”. He just has a polished smoothness to his game that I don’t see often out of rookies. His routes are CRISP and his body control is of a seasoned vet. I truly believe he will develop into a number 1 WR. Keep in mind not every number 1 WR is DeAndre Hopkins dominant and that’s not the future I am predicting for him. I think he simply got caught behind a deep WR group as a rookie and we had a limited passing game last year. I expect big things from him in the next few years and for him to eventually make either Kupp/Woods a trade asset.


View: https://youtu.be/wf2ci0q6F-w

NO! I do as well!!!

 

[FarNorth]

Love him! But does McVay? He just drafted a half dozen wr/te and signed one in free agency while paying two others top end money. He was 4th on the depth chart last year we lost a WR ahead of him signed a free agent and drafted a guy with the same pick as he was. Is it not valid to question where he fits in among the 6 WR and however many TE we have? Again I loved the kid he was one of my favorite WR prospects last year. But from an outside perspective McVay isn't really giving him a shot of confidence.

My perception is that McVay is still very high on him. But it did seem mysterious that Jefferson didn't get more playing time last year. Especially because (at least to me) Reynolds and Everett were somewhat underwhelming.

 

[Merlin]

It's a fair question. I really think it's up to Van. He has the talent and route running excellence to make an impact he just needs to produce. In his favor he was open quite a bit down the stretch for us, just had things go wrong up front in some of those plays.

IMO DJax was about putting heat on Van. He's either gonna respond to the competition or he's not. But there is every reason to think that he can make an impact and demand playing time by kicking ass.

 

[blackbart]

From everything I’ve been reading our boy Van is being discussed as an afterthought around here. Essentially, a guy who only offers what Kupp and Woods do, just to a lesser extent. I for one was very encouraged by what I saw from Van in an admittedly small sample size last year. It felt like every time he touched the football I thought to myself “that doesn’t look like a rookie”. He just has a polished smoothness to his game that I don’t see often out of rookies. His routes are CRISP and his body control is of a seasoned vet. I truly believe he will develop into a number 1 WR. Keep in mind not every number 1 WR is DeAndre Hopkins dominant and that’s not the future I am predicting for him. I think he simply got caught behind a deep WR group as a rookie and we had a limited passing game last year. I expect big things from him in the next few years and for him to eventually make either Kupp/Woods a trade asset.


View: https://youtu.be/wf2ci0q6F-w

I have high hopes for him. Comparing him to other rookies last year puts him behind the curve even in guys with the same last name so it’s hard to get too excited.

We’ll see what year 2 brings with hopefully a full camp and time to build a rapport with Stafford.

 

[dieterbrock]

I think its safe to say that Djax is not being depended on for 17 games. And if he can "show the ropes" to Atwell prior to getting hurt, he's done his job. Jefferson has 3 years left on his deal and if he shows enough during the season, its likely that Woods or Kupp is traded next off season. Nsimba Webster, Trishton Jackson, Johnny Mundt and Brycen Hopkins may have a little more to fear than Jefferson.

 

[RamDino]

Receivers grow the most from year 1 to year 2. Let's give Van a chance. I personally have high hopes for him, and I am especially looking forward to watching his confidence grow, and with it his big play potential. We'll see what this year brings.

 

[FrantikRam]

I think its safe to say that Djax is not being depended on for 17 games. And if he can "show the ropes" to Atwell prior to getting hurt, he's done his job. Jefferson has 3 years left on his deal and if he shows enough during the season, its likely that Woods or Kupp is traded next off season. Nsimba Webster, Trishton Jackson, Johnny Mundt and Brycen Hopkins may have a little more to fear than Jefferson.

Couldn't have said it better.

I still don't get why people are counting Harris or Skowronek as WRs - they were pretty clearly brought in to do other things, at least in 2021.

Going back to 2017, you have Woods, Kupp, Cooks and then Kupp again getting hurt for at least a few games - last year was probably the healthiest we've been at WR but Kupp still missed the most important game of the season.

If Jackson plays four full games I will be shocked - I think it's the perfect plan to ease Atwell in and then give him more PT after Jackson gets injured. If we're not counting on Jackson, that leaves four viable WRs this year and our history has shown that all four will play.

 

[VegasRam]

@NJRamsFan - no, you're not.
I see what you see. But I don't see is the speed everyone's talking about, or fight for the ball, but agree it is a small sample size.
A @Merlin said, he'll be pushed this year, so we'll know a lot more halfway into the season.

 

[MachS]

I like Van and he deserves a lot more snaps. But unfortunately I don't think that will come this year with our crowded WR depth chart. Which is why I really expected us to trade Woods or Kupp this off-season. But that didn't happen so I now fully expect one of them to be traded next off-season. Its nothing against either of them at all, its just VJ has a very similar skill set and is $15M cheaper. Next year with all the dead $ coming off the books from Gurley/Goff and the anticipated retirement of Whit, we will have a lot of money to work with. And if we trade Kupp/Woods we should have around $50M to play with to sign a FA franchise LT and other positions. That trade will also open up snaps for Tutu.

 

[dieterbrock]

FWIW, and keep in mind I dont want Kupp or Woods traded,
Kupp dead money after 6/1 is only 3.8 mill in 2021 and 12 mill in 2022, Woods 3.4 mill in 2021 and 8.6 mill in 2022
After eating 40+ mill of dead cap the last 2 years, 8-12 would be a drop in the bucket

 

[sjm1582002]

We have come light years from the dark days of Quick/Britt.

 

[dang]

I’m a believer in 4 solid WRs. I count Jackson/Atwell as 1. so add Woods/Kupp/Jeffrerson and we have 4.

 

[AZRams]

I think its safe to say that Djax is not being depended on for 17 games. And if he can "show the ropes" to Atwell prior to getting hurt, he's done his job. Jefferson has 3 years left on his deal and if he shows enough during the season, its likely that Woods or Kupp is traded next off season. Nsimba Webster, Trishton Jackson, Johnny Mundt and Brycen Hopkins may have a little more to fear than Jefferson.

Yeah, with what just went on in the draft I think Webster is almost certainly gone this year. He's not likely to take snaps from the top 4 WR--whoever they are--and they've drafted ST guys with an eye on them playing in those roles from day 1.

I might not bet the house payment on it but probably a car payment, easy.

 

[NJRamsFan]

Love him! But does McVay? He just drafted a half dozen wr/te and signed one in free agency while paying two others top end money. He was 4th on the depth chart last year we lost a WR ahead of him signed a free agent and drafted a guy with the same pick as he was. Is it not valid to question where he fits in among the 6 WR and however many TE we have? Again I loved the kid he was one of my favorite WR prospects last year. But from an outside perspective McVay isn't really giving him a shot of confidence.

I hear ya but I think McVay was obsessed with Brandon Cooks skill set and what it does for our offense. Remember the clips of him getting giddy watching Cooks in practice? I think that is an entirely different type of WR and I also don’t believe we wanted to put all our eggs in the Djax basket. I guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t think the moves made this year at WR are indicative of a lack of trust in Van, just moves to add a missing piece to our offense. The others after tutu I don’t put much stock in.