Report: Van Jefferson has 'a good chance' to be Rams' No. 3 receiver

Report: Van Jefferson has 'a good chance' to be Rams' No. 3 receiver

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared camp notes after visiting the Rams, highlighting Van Jefferson’s likely increase in snaps.

theramswire.usatoday.com

Report: Van Jefferson has 'a good chance' to be Rams' No. 3 receiver​

Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are obviously going to be the Rams’ top two receivers again this season, maintaining their roles as starters on offense. Who replaces Josh Reynolds as the No. 3 receiver is still a mystery, however.

Van Jefferson was the clear-cut favorite to assume that role before the Rams signed DeSean Jackson and drafted Tutu Atwell, but their arrivals complicate things for the second-year receiver out of Florida.

He’s still a player the Rams have a lot of confidence in and will undoubtedly have a role this season, and it could very well be as the No. 3 receiver despite Jackson’s stellar play in camp. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN visited Rams camp and shared notes from what he learned, highlighting Jefferson’s play and his projected role on offense.

Van Jefferson has a good chance to man the No. 3 receiver spot despite the arrival of DeSean Jackson. He has had a really strong camp. Jackson will have his packages, but the Rams won’t overload his snaps, and Jefferson could often to be the first to spell Kupp and Woods out of two-receiver sets. At least that’s the way it’s trending.

Nothing terribly surprising here, considering Jefferson and Jackson are listed as co-starters at WR3 on the Rams’ first unofficial depth chart. Both played well in camp and should get plenty of opportunities offensively to make plays in the passing game.

Keeping Jackson fresh will be a priority, of course, given his injury history. That could lead to Jefferson getting more snaps than the veteran.

Fowler also noted that the Rams “appear all-in on Darrell Henderson Jr. as the lead running back,” which isn’t surprising either. He’s being treated like RB1 by Sean McVay, sitting out the preseason and getting first-team reps in practice.

But Fowler wrote, “remember the name Jake Funk” because the Rams are “very happy with his progress.” Funk will make his preseason debut Saturday against the Chargers, which will give fans a sense of his talent.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Cooper Kupp would love to line up as an outside receiver more

Cooper Kupp primarily plays the slot, but he’d be happy to move outside to X-receiver if needed.

theramswire.usatoday.com

Cooper Kupp would love to line up as an outside receiver more​

Cooper Kupp has earned the title as one of the best slot receivers in the NFL. He’s been incredibly productive as a former third-round pick, catching 288 passes for 3,570 yards and 24 touchdowns in four seasons (54 games).

But Kupp doesn’t necessarily want to be known as just a slot receiver. That’s his role in the Rams’ offense – even though Sean McVay moves his pass-catchers around often – but he wouldn’t mind getting more opportunities on the outside.

Kupp has the size to win outside, but he’s not a threat to run by defenders or win over the top, which makes him a better fit in the slot thanks to his quickness and route running. Even still, he told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed to one role.

“I’m always asking for more,” Kupp said. “I never want to get pigeonholed in one thing. The goal for everyone here, the more you can do the better. I also take pride in what’s happening across the field and what to do. There are really fun things about being singled outside as an X that I don’t get to experience as much. I’d love to do that stuff. At the same time, I know what my role is in the offense, being able to execute my role is the utmost priority. If my number is called for other stuff, that comes into play as well.”

The Rams have enough wide receiver depth that they don’t need Kupp to play outside. Robert Woods is plenty capable of doing that. So is Van Jefferson. And DeSean Jackson.

But with how often the Rams mix things up on offense, it wouldn’t hurt to isolate Kupp on the edge as the X-receiver one-on-one against a cornerback. He has such a good feel for route running that him getting open in that situation has a strong likelihood, even if it won’t go for an explosive play downfield.

 

[FrantikRam]

I imagine the priority will be to keep Kupp healthy for the end of the season. DJax after that.

It wouldn't be surprising to me if Kupp only plays half the snaps, and then DJax and VJ split time when three WRs are on the field