‘Pencil in’ WR Van Jefferson to the NY Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft

It’s time to ‘pencil in’ the NY Jets drafting wide receiver Van Jefferson in the 2020 NFL Draft. Wait what? Here are the full details.

During the build-up to the NFL Draft there are many unknowns. Everyone is lying to each other through media reports, the rumor mill, and mock drafts.

Although there appears to be one universal truth that we might as well “pencil in” weeks ahead of time: the NY Jets will select wide receiver, Van Jefferson, out of Florida in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Wait what now?

On The Lefkoe Show this week, NFL Draft guru Connor Rogers joined the program to explain how the novel coronavirus could benefit a team like the NY Jets on draft day:

“It really comes into, how plugged in are you? An interesting example of that is former Florida wide receiver, Van Jefferson.

He’s, unfortunately, one of the guys who had an injury detected at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Now he won’t go through medical re-checks, won’t have a Pro Day, and won’t have a chance to show anything.

Van’s dad is the wide receivers coach for the NY Jets. Who do you think is going to have the most information on him? He’s just one example of that kind of situation playing out.

The Jets are going to have all the information in the world on Van Jefferson and the rest of the NFL teams likely won’t.”

https://twitter.com/LefkoeShow/status/1245005450044747781

On the surface, the fit makes all the sense in the world. The Jets are desperate for wide receiver help and that need has only grown since the end of 2019.

Robby Anderson left the team to join his old ball coach in Carolina. The Jets immediately pivoted to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman. While Perriman is intriguing, he doesn’t solve the problem at the position either.

Having that kind of knowledge about a draft prospect (Van Jefferson) that no one else has in these trying times is an incredible advantage.

Connor Rogers would go on to say Van’s projected NFL Draft value right now in this specific draft class is the “top of the third round”.

Conveniently the Jets have two selections in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft: 68th overall (via the NY Giants, Leonard Williams trade) and 79th overall (their original pick).

Near the end of the conversation, Connor Rogers gave his take on Jefferson as a prospect:

“Jefferson has a very high floor. He’s a possession guy with good hands and good routes. The athletes are going to go ahead of him in the top-50 in this draft but if you’re looking for a plug-and-play No. 3 option he’s that kind of guy.

How teams value him will be very interesting. Heading into the Senior Bowl some teams had him as a fifth or sixth-round guy because of a lack of production. Although I’d counter and say look at his quarterback situation at Florida, you can’t really judge a guy with that.”

At the end of this response host, Adam Lefkoe jumps in to say, “seems like third round just kind of pencil Van Jefferson in to the NY Jets.”