The Rams didn’t waste any time filling the void left by the departure of Brandin Cooks via trade, selecting Van Jefferson out of Florida in the 2020 NFL Draft. He was their second pick in the draft, going off the board at No. 57 overall.
On Friday, EA Sports released the ratings for rookie receivers in “Madden NFL 21” and Jefferson was surprisingly low compared to his fellow first-year wideouts. Here are some of Jefferson’s key ratings in the upcoming game.
- Overall: 70
- Speed: 90
- Acceleration: 92
- Strength: 59
- Agility: 82
- Awareness: 68
- Catching: 82
- Jumping: 85
- Spectacular catch: 81
- Catch in traffic: 78
- Short route running: 77
- Medium route running: 75
- Deep route running: 76
While route-running ratings in the mid-70s may not seem great, he has some of the best numbers in that category compared to other rookie receivers. He’s fifth in short route running, and sixth in both medium and deep route running.
He’s plenty fast enough with a 90 speed rating, but that’s tied for 15th among rookie receivers, so this is a fast class of wideouts.
Henry Ruggs III is the best (and fastest) rookie receiver at 76 overall, followed by Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb at 75 overall.
