Van Jefferson the meteorologist? Nope, he’s custom-built to play WR

Rams rookie second-round draft pick ready to contribute

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Van Jefferson had visions of pursuing a career as a meteorologist as a youngster.

“My mom would always have the news channel on when we were growing up,” Jefferson said. “I would always see the weatherman on television, so I just said one day to my mom, ‘Mom I want to do that.’ I always had an interest in that.”

However, Jefferson’s dad had other plans.

“I told him, but he was like ‘nah, you’re going to be a football player,’’” Jefferson said.

Jefferson’s dad of course is Sean Jefferson, who had a 13-year NFL career as a receiver before moving to coaching once his playing days were over. The older Jefferson currently serves as the receivers coach for the New York Jets.

The elder Jefferson’s star pupil was his son, so it’s no surprise he has grown into a polished receiver mature beyond his years.

“He’s done some incredible things,” fellow Rams receivers Cooper Kupp said about Jefferson. “Everyone knows he’s an incredible route runner by this point. But the other side of thing is just his understanding of the game, the questions he asks.

“You’re going to have questions -- if you’re coming in from college, you’re going to have some. No one comes straight out of college and knows the NFL game. It is a different game, but the questions he’s asking really lends itself to show how much he is grasping on to this thing. He’s not asking the 101 questions, he’s asking the 301 questions.”

Added quarterback Jared Goff: “Every day he shows up. It’s little things every day, making plays, making catches and running great routes. He has strong hands, and he starting to really absorb this offense even better.”

At the root of Jefferson’s success is a relentless commitment to be great, and a disciplined father driven to help his son reach his full potential.

“My dad was very hard on me as a young age,” Jefferson said. “He always pushed me to be the best -- always pushed me to be the best person, be a good football player, be a good role model.

“So, my dad was always on me, man. He was always harping, ‘Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ So, of course there were times where I was like ‘Man, I don’t feel like going back to the facility. I don’t feel like going out and running routes,’

“But now that I’m here, I look back on those things man. My dad was a pivotal piece. Part of my success. He’s a great dad, a great person, a great human-being, Man, he’s hard working. So, a big piece of why I’m here is because of him.”

At 6-1 and 200 pounds with good speed and sticky hands, Jefferson looks like he can contribute immediately. At times, he has given Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey all that he can handle in practice.

One of the reasons the Rams selected Jefferson in the second round was his versatility, with an ability to be effective on the perimeter or in the slot.

“We want to be able to have guys that are versatile that can play all over the formation,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “And I think that’s one of the things we liked so much about Van is he can certainly win isolations outside, he can work inside on option routes where he understands how to work leverages and recognize coverage contours.

“So, he’s a really good football player. … He’s got a knack for the game. Football just makes sense to him. He’s got that pedigree, you know, when you look at the history of the success that his dad had as a player and now he’s coaching. And when you’re around Van, that’s what it feels like. You know, it feels like he came from that football pedigree and he sure is talented.”

Although he didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine due to a foot injury, Zebra technology had Jefferson as the fastest player at the Senior Bowl with a max speed of 21.05 mph.

His explosive burst has been on display on a regular basis at practice. Jefferson also said he was a fan of teammate Robert Woods when he played at USC and wore No. 2 in high school because of him.

“I know they were like the No. 1 ranked team at one point, so everybody’s going to watch the No. 1 ranked team,” Jefferson said. “So, I just remember throughout that whole season, I just kept watching Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. I was looking at routes, and was like dang, his routes are crispy. So, I always use to look at him and you know, try to mimic what he does.”