Van Jefferson was destined for greatness long before he entered the NFL, but the former second-round choice of the Los Angeles Rams was moved to the Atlanta Falcons last season and is now on his third professional team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Van, the son of former NFL receiver and current NFL receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, signed a one-year contract with the Steelers in March to battle for a spot on the team’s 53-man roster.
However, through OTAs and with no standouts behind George Pickens, Jefferson’s minimal experience with the Rams appears to be paying dividends in terms of playing time. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athlete and numerous other Steelers beat writers, Jefferson is the person to beat for Pittsburgh’s number two receiving spot.
Jefferson was compared to Robert Woods when Los Angeles drafted him 57th overall in 2020, with the expectation that he will replace Woods in a year or two. That never occurred, and the Rams had to keep adding receivers to help the offense, including Odell Beckham Jr., Tutu Atwell, and Allen Robinson, a former Rams player who moved to Pittsburgh to try to revive his career.
Jefferson had a career-high 50 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns in 2021, but when the Rams needed a receiver to step up in the playoffs due to injuries, he fell short: Jefferson had nine catches for 102 yards and no scores on 17 targets.
Jefferson got fewer targets than Ben Skowronek and Robinson in 2022, even though Cooper Kupp was out for half of the season.
Jefferson was dealt to the Falcons in 2023 for a late-day three-pick swap in 2025, and he finished with 12 receptions on 28 targets for 101 yards. Kaboly names other Steelers receivers as competitors for Jefferson, including Calvin Austin and Quez Watkins, but appears to leave out Roman Wilson, a third-round pick from Michigan. This may be an oversight, or Wilson could be that far behind.
For the time being, it appears that Jefferson is not only the top candidate to be Pittsburgh’s second wide receiver. He also doesn’t appear to have any competition aside from himself.
