Van Jefferson appears to be the clear No. 2 wide receiver on the Los Angeles Rams as he enters his fourth season in the NFL. With Jefferson expected to play a vital role in the Rams’ offense this season, Sean McVay loves the confidence that the fourth-year wideout is showing in practices.
“I’m glad you asked about him because I think he’s strung together his best practices the last couple days,” McVay said. “He’s confident, he’s playing violent at the point of attack, he’s making contested catches. I think he’s seeing coverage contours really well, he’s able to win and work edges on some of his isolation opportunities and that’s the Van that we know. And I think for him, I don’t want to speak for him, but he sure looks like he’s feeling good. He looks like himself and I think his last two days have been his best two days and that’s a positive thing.”
After receiving a limited role as a rookie in 2020, Jefferson tallied a career-best 50 receptions, 802 receiving yards, and six touchdowns in 2021 amid an injury to Robert Woods and the signing of Odell Beckham Jr. The 27-year-old pass catcher would play through a knee injury en route to the team’s Super Bowl victory in 2021, forcing him to undergo surgery in the offseason.
So leading up to the 2022 campaign, Jefferson was unable to practice fully and he would miss the first six games of last season. And with injuries to Matthew Stafford and the offensive line, Jefferson finished last year with only 24 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns in nine starts.
Entering the upcoming season, Jefferson is the No. 2 alongside Cooper Kupp as he is in the final year of his rookie contract. Unlike last offseason, Jefferson appears to be healthy and McVay believes he’s been stringing together his best practices recently.
