Van Jefferson – WR (Florida)
The Vikings do need to flesh out their wide receiving depth chart in this year’s Draft. They have two of the best in the league at the top in Diggs and Thielen, and a promising youngster in Bisi Johnson as the third option. The question is who will be behind them when the season starts?
One pass catcher the Vikings have had a formal meeting with is Florida’s Van Jefferson. Jefferson participated in the Senior Bowl and did quite well for himself. He did so well, he was named the South team’s practice player of the week at wide receiver. Taking advantage of that opportunity vaulted Jefferson into the Day 2 range of the Draft, even with the extreme depth of this year’s receiving class.
There’s a ton to like about Van Jefferson besides his cool sounding name. He’s plenty tall at 6’1 and 200 pounds. What team’s are going to love about Jefferson is that he’s already a polished route runner. He’s quick off the line and gets in and out of his breaks in a hurry. When hearing that his father is longtime NFL receiver and current Jets wide receiver coach Shawn Jefferson, it makes sense that his route running is so advanced.
Jefferson is a pro-ready wide receiver who should make his living working out of the slot. He would compete with Bisi Johnson to become the third wide receiver on the depth chart and is someone the Minnesota Vikings could target with the extra third-round pick they recently received.