With the NFL season just over two weeks away, training camps have turned into a makeshift preseason as teams do their best to prepare without their usual exhibition games prior to Week 1. The Rams have been hard at work, trying to iron out the pecking order for both offense and defense with many new faces in the mix. One name that has clearly caught the attention of the coaching staff is rookie WR Van Jefferson.
Jefferson was drafted 57th overall out of Florida in this year’s draft, a curious choice considering the depth that the Rams have at the position. It’s slowly become clear that that the front office saw something special in him that was worth taking him that high. It was expected that Jefferson would be the 4th WR on the depth chart behind Kupp, Woods, and Reynolds, but he may be inching his way up that list sooner than expected.
Van Jefferson just took that poor DBs soul pic.twitter.com/wAsLF5nIaf
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) November 24, 2018
According to Rams’ beat writer Stu Jackson, Jefferson has been seeing plenty of practice time with the 1st string offensive group. His ability was never in question, but it seemed inevitable that it would take some time to learn a new offense and integrate himself well enough to earn consistent playing time with the lack of a real training camp. Instead, Jefferson has been hard at work memorizing his playbook and has shown that he is ready to go.
It goes without saying that Kupp and Woods will remain the team’s 1 and 2, but the 3rd string receiver spot is wide open for the taking. While Reynolds has shown flashes of his ability, Jefferson’s impressive camp may lead to diminished playing time for the 3-year veteran. However the pecking order winds up, the Rams seem to have found a real talent in Van Jefferson.
