Van Jefferson has been so good lately that the Rams decided to release veteran deep-ball specialist, DeSean Jackson, on Tuesday. Although Jefferson played 94 percent and 84 percent of the team’s offensive snaps over the last two games, the move to release Jackson only confirmed his standing as WR3 in the Rams’ high-powered offense. Thus, he should be rostered in leagues moving forward as a high-upside, big-play fantasy wideout who could jump to weekly starter status if Cooper Kupp or Robert Woods were to get injured.
Van Jefferson is a sneaky add wherever possible in fantasy leagues.
– 94% and 84% of snaps last two games 🔥
– 6+ targets in 4 of 8 games. 👀
– On pace for 11 TDs, 933 receiving yards, and 232 PPR points in games with 6+ targets.
– Favorable schedule going forward pic.twitter.com/ZlJZY8cScI— Matt Duckworth (@iDuck14) November 2, 2021
“It’s been good,” Jefferson said last week. “I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m just perfecting my craft and being the best player I can be, learning from the older guys, and just gaining the trust of my coaches and (quarterback) Matt (Stafford). That’s what I try to do every day, just come in and be the best I can be, and everything else will take care of itself.”
RotoDuck, our long-time, yet lazy writer who tweeted about Jefferson’s upside rather than writing a stock watch about it, said the young receiver could be in for a massive increase in target frequency. Not to mention he’s seeing more air yards and has a higher average depth of target (aDOT) than Woods.
Worth noting Jefferson has only been targeted on only 16.2% of his routes. Certainly could be in line for a massive increase in target frequency.
— Matt Duckworth (@iDuck14) November 3, 2021
Jefferson, who is the son of former Patriots’ great and current Cardinals’ WR coach Shawn Jefferson, impressed as a rookie with his precise route running and it only continued this offseason. Sean McVay called the second-year player “a major bright spot” and a player “we’re expecting big things from.”
Once the team traded for Matthew Stafford, Jefferson developed quick chemistry with him. It showed during training camp and it’s continued into the regular season. Stafford has connected with Jefferson 24 times for 392 yards and three touchdowns through eight games.
“I think he’s really worked hard,” said McVay. You can see he’s a really conscientious player. But understand how to work edges on guys versus bump, aggressively attacking the football and then really just having an ownership of the system, the things that we’re trying to get done, where he fits within the framework of the different concepts, and it’s getting better and better. He’s making a lot of plays, that should give him a lot of confidence. And then there’s still things that we can continue to just improve on to really be at the upper echelon, but feel really good about Van, I think he’s made a lot of really good progress.”
That progress made the decision to move on from Jackson quite easy. Jefferson gets a juicy matchup this week against the Titans and should be a prime streaming option for WR-needy squads. He checks in at WR33 (+3 vs ECR) on The Wolf’s Week 9 Fantasy Rankings.
