Van Jefferson hoped the Jets would draft him, and so did his dad
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Van Jefferson was elated to get a call from the Rams during the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was thrilled to be selected 57th overall out of Florida, but he probably wouldn’t have minded if he went two picks later, either.
Jefferson was hoping the Jets would draft him, not because he preferred Sam Darnold to Jared Goff or Adam Gase to Sean McVay. He wanted to land with the Jets because he loves their wide receivers coach.
Shawn Jefferson, Van’s dad, is a former NFL wide receiver and the current receivers coach for the Jets. So it’s understandable that Van would want to be selected by the team his dad coaches for – especially when he plays the position that his dad works with.
“My son was like, ‘Hey, dad, I hope I can become a Jet. I would love to play for you,'” Jefferson said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “He was excited. He really wanted to come and play for the Jets. As it started ticking down … we got a phone call and I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ At the same time, I was just sad. But at one point, I was elated and happy for him because he put in all the hard work. His childhood dream came to fruition.”
It’s certainly possible the Jets were eyeing Jefferson in the second round, too. They were sitting at No. 59 overall when the Rams took Jefferson two picks earlier. The Jets wound up selecting Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims at that spot, a player the Rams were also said to be interested in.
Jefferson may not have his dad coaching him in L.A., but he still landed in a good situation with the Rams. He’ll have a chance to compete with Josh Reynolds for the WR3 spot as a rookie, and in 2021, both Reynolds and Cooper Kupp will be free agents.
The Jets are much thinner at wideout than the Rams are, but Jefferson could conceivably become a No. 2 receiver by Year 2.
