Ram Digest

WR Van Jefferson is Carving Out his Role as the Rams' X-Factor in Second NFL Season

Van Jefferson's development in his second NFL season provides the Rams with another force in the receiving game.

Nicholas Cothrel

The Los Angeles Rams selected Van Jefferson with the 57th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but his contributions throughout his rookie campaign were fairly minor.

Jefferson came into the league with two notable traits: high-end route running and strong hands to fight through contact on contested passes. So how has his skill set translated into the NFL in his second season with the Rams?

In year two, Jefferson is emerging as a reliable pass-catcher, building a profound chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford that looks to take incremental steps from week to week. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, Jefferson hauled in four passes for 43 yards and one touchdown.

In seven weeks of play, Jefferson has already surpassed his receptions, yards and touchdown total from last season, becoming more involved in the Rams' passing attack.

On Wednesday, coach Sean McVay spoke on behalf of Jefferson evolving in his second year in the Rams offense.

“Just the ownership of what we're asking him to do. He's really worked hard," McVay said of Jefferson. "You can see he's a really conscientious player but understanding 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. He's getting better and better. He's making a lot of plays that should give them 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 I feel really good about Van. I think he's making a lot of really good progress.”

The Rams are relatively deep at wide receiver but following an injury to tight end Johnny Mundt, the team looks as if they're going to transition into playing with more three wide receiver sets. Last week, Jefferson received 94% of the Rams' offensive snaps, which is up roughly 30% from what he had typically played in the weeks prior. 

“I think he's done a great job," Stafford said of Jefferson. "When he's had his opportunities, he has made the most of them. There's even a few more out there that I feel like we can connect on and really make defenses pay. He's a bigger guy, but he's really sudden, got really good hands, strong hands, has a great feel for running routes. His dad taught him well growing up, you can tell. He’s just continuing to progress and that's what you want. You just want to see a guy with drive and with the right attitude. He just comes in here every single day working his tail off, trying to get better and it's producing on the field.”

Currently, Jefferson appears to rank third in the pecking order among Rams' wide receivers behind Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. In doing so, Jefferson is averaging 14.6 yards per reception across 21 grabs for 304 yards and three touchdowns. 

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Nick Cothrel is the Publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.

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Nicholas Cothrel
NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.

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