Losing My Faith in Van Jefferson

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CoachAllred said:
I am hoping he can change that , but to this point I have seen little evidence that he
he can be a true wr2 behind Kupp. What troubles the most is his lack of aggressiveness
in attacking the ball in the air and his lack of positioning his body properly against
DB's on 50'/ 50 balls.

Huge sure TD drop shows how poorly he can position himself at times.
Not sure if Nacua is able to play Jeffersons position , but IMO,
When Kupp does return I am hoping to see Kupp, Nacua , Atwell starting.



View: https://youtu.be/hj79HXMJ8Fk?si=zn1kduc2FeR6zsfJ&t=706
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I’ve never had much faith in Jefferson beyond being a complementary receiver. I thought that he could fill the Josh Reynolds role and was encouraged after his first season. He’s been a disappointment since. That drop on Sunday was deflating at the time.
 
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radjohns said:
I’ve never had much faith in Jefferson beyond being a complementary receiver. I thought that he could fill the Josh Reynolds role and was encouraged after his first season. He’s been a disappointment since. That drop on Sunday was deflating at the time.
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You were disappointed in his second season? Strange.

.
 
kurtfaulk said:
You were disappointed in his second season? Strange.

.
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Yeah his second season where he was healthy and the unquestioned #3 WR and #4 target on our Super Bowl run he was very good. That's what we should hope for every year out of Van.
 
Van has been in the league long enough that he should have flashed by now. He just has never taken the next step.

He doesn't fight for the ball and has no presence on the field at all. His passivity and timidness is apparent.

I thought that bringing in Robinson and Johnson was smart and offers some protection in the event that Kupp got hurt - remember Jefferson's horrendous performance in the Super Bowl.

Jefferson hasn't earned a starting position, but you better believe he'll be in there again because the Rams are playing the long game here.

Rams don't want to diminish his trade value or the chance to get compensatory picks in the draft, because there's no way he'll be back.

It's too bad really, but we have to face the fact that Jefferson's a pick that just never fired.

As for Tutu, I've just never understood why everyone was so down on him. He just didn't get the opportunity before.

He gets behind every DB. He's up there with Tyreek Hill as best deep threat in the league , he's DeSean Jackson with a much better attitude.

Explosive, a very smooth runner with excellent hands.

I never want to hear about Creed Humphrey again.
 
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NorthernRam said:
Van has been in the league long enough that he should have flashed by now. He just has never taken the next step.

He doesn't fight for the ball and has no presence on the field at all. His passivity and timidness is apparent.

I thought that bringing in Robinson and Johnson was smart and offers some protection in the event that Kupp got hurt - remember Jefferson's horrendous performance in the Super Bowl.

Jefferson hasn't earned a starting position, but you better believe he'll be in there again because the Rams are playing the long game here.

Rams don't want to diminish his trade value or the chance to get compensatory picks in the draft, because there's no way he'll be back.

It's too bad really, but we have to face the fact that Jefferson's a pick that just never fired.

As for Tutu, I've just never understood why everyone was so down on him. He just didn't get the opportunity before.

He gets behind every DB. He's up there with Tyreek Hill as best deep threat in the league , he's DeSean Jackson with a much better attitude.

Explosive, a very smooth runner with excellent hands.

I never want to hear about Creed Humphrey again.
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Agree for the Rams is all what’s in front of them not what’s in the rear view mirror. That includes the epic Super Bowl run in ‘21 and the hangover flop in ‘22. I’ll take a playoff run this year but I still believe it’s all about finding out what the have this year. Then filling any holes (Trade, FA, Draft) to take back the NFL West and make a legitimate Super Bowl run next year.
 
Riverumbbq said:
I've taken a lot of flak for suggesting Van Jeff as trade fodder since the 2021 deadline, ... the Rams are in a good position to move on from him if some team suffers a WR injury and makes a reasonable offer. As things stand today, I can easily see the Rams drafting a LT & WR with their first 2 picks next season. Kupp, Nacua, Tutu, Skow, Robinson & Tyler Johnson are a very nice base to work from, then add a top draft pick to the equation.
jmo.
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I remember those posts. The biggest reason for the pushback was outside of Kupp, the Rams didn’t really have a downfield WR.
Atwell was still unproven, Skow is limited, and Nacua? Who knew?

The idea of letting VJ play out his contract was in line with the Rams’ approach to draft and recoup comp picks.

VJ is a #3 guy. We can see that. He has a chance to show more this season, but that will only increase his market value. He won’t be back.

As for drafting a WR next year, I have been saying that would be a potential use for that #1 pick, but that was contingent on the Rams solving the Edge void.
 
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radjohns said:
I’ve never had much faith in Jefferson beyond being a complementary receiver. I thought that he could fill the Josh Reynolds role and was encouraged after his first season. He’s been a disappointment since. That drop on Sunday was deflating at the time.
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Rams would have been much better off keeping JR. He's a consistent playmaker for Detroit. Came up big to help win the game against KC.
 
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If Jefferson has a big game tomorrow everyone will happily admit they may have been wrong about him. Here is hoping for the best for him and the Rams against those shmucks.
 
Here is what I see when I watched Van, prior to this year; catches with his body, is not a natural catcher of the football, and doesn't attack it when it is in the air. He has everything else you would want in a #2 receiver. In game 1 this year, I believe every catch of his was a hands catch, which is encouraging. I am hoping that that means he has been working on that in the offseason. The deep drop was indicative of his lack of being a natural catcher. He made a bad decision to turn away and attempt an over the shoulder (Pinkies together) catch, when he should have squared up, thumbs together to make that catch. To me, it is the lack of instinct that leads to that kind of decision. I have seen other drops by Van that appear to be related to the same issue. Seems like he is thinking about how he is supposed to make the catch, and trying to decide, in the absence of that natural instinct.

If he is/has been working on catching the ball with his hands, he can and will improve in that area. The catching instinct, is another story. I am just not sure how much that can be taught/learned if it isn't in the player already.
 
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fanotodd said:
I remember those posts. The biggest reason for the pushback was outside of Kupp, the Rams didn’t really have a downfield WR.
Atwell was still unproven, Skow is limited, and Nacua? Who knew?

The idea of letting VJ play out his contract was in line with the Rams’ approach to draft and recoup comp picks.

VJ is a #3 guy. We can see that. He has a chance to show more this season, but that will only increase his market value. He won’t be back.

As for drafting a WR next year, I have been saying that would be a potential use for that #1 pick, but that was contingent on the Rams solving the Edge void.
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Edge has to be a proven commodity. Which eliminates the Draft. Edge should be someone the Rams covet vs someone who’s available. Which likely limits FA. So I see a trade for an excellent to elite Edge (e.g. someone like Danielle Hunter, Brian Burns, etc ) either by this years trade deadline (if Rams are still in the running) or off-season.
 
I stated a few times that Jefferson has trouble judging the ball trajectory/height. It showed up in college highlights that he jumps for balls that he does need to and it continued with the Rams. It has cost him YAD on a number of occasions. I thought the Rams would correct this. He just does have the timing of the ball trajectory which could be affecting his hand positions etc.

He still gets open and I imagine he was getting the most attention against the Hags. He will still make some plays with is route running and deceptive speed. He should be showing more for his draft position. He could still end up 800-1000 yards this season.
 
NorthernRam said:
Van has been in the league long enough that he should have flashed by now. He just has never taken the next step.

He doesn't fight for the ball and has no presence on the field at all. His passivity and timidness is apparent.

I thought that bringing in Robinson and Johnson was smart and offers some protection in the event that Kupp got hurt - remember Jefferson's horrendous performance in the Super Bowl.

Jefferson hasn't earned a starting position, but you better believe he'll be in there again because the Rams are playing the long game here.

Rams don't want to diminish his trade value or the chance to get compensatory picks in the draft, because there's no way he'll be back.

It's too bad really, but we have to face the fact that Jefferson's a pick that just never fired.

As for Tutu, I've just never understood why everyone was so down on him. He just didn't get the opportunity before.

He gets behind every DB. He's up there with Tyreek Hill as best deep threat in the league , he's DeSean Jackson with a much better attitude.

Explosive, a very smooth runner with excellent hands.

I never want to hear about Creed Humphrey again.
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Honestly, with Tutu, I have nothing against the guy. I hope he blows up and it’s possible he can. He has the hands, speed, route running and many other skills that would allow for success. Now he has opportunity with Kupp out and a few years in the system learning the playbook.

I think most fans are like me. We were so disappointed at the pick because we desperately needed a center and Creed was the smart pick. He justified our thinking by playing at an all pro level since day 1. That said, we are still hoping Tutu delivers big. We are rooting for him.

Same for Jefferson. It does not look good for him at the moment but if he balls out and becomes all world then I’m all for it. Man up and ball out!!
 
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TexasRam said:
I think most fans are like me. We were so disappointed at the pick because we desperately needed a center and Creed was the smart pick. He justified our thinking by playing at an all pro level since day 1.
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Really, did we "desperately need a C"? Some fans believed we needed a C but did we? We won the SB with Allen. We had injuries last season and had we had 2 Creed Humphries it wouldn't have made a huge difference. We're rolling with Shelton and Allen backing him up (the same 2 from 2021 when many wanted Creed), so apparently we still don't "desperately need a C"! Maybe we just needed 2 good G's? And right now we may have 2 better G's than 2021! JMHO as it is anybody who said we screwed the pooch with the Tutu pick. And those people should be rooting for Tutu to succeed. Too.
 
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