Things can change in an instant, but the way the wind is currently blowing, it sounds like the Steelers won't be trading for Brandon Aiyuk. Based on what we can glean from last night's game, the No. 2 wide receiver in Pittsburgh will be Van Jefferson. Yay?
Jefferson played every snap with the first-team offense, with a 20-yard reception and another chance ruled incomplete (wrongly, I think, but I'm not going to give Mike Tomlin heat for not challenging a call in a preseason game). He signed a one-year deal for close to the minimum so clearly he's not highly thought of around the league, but he hasn't been terrible; in the Rams' Super Bowl season, he went over 800 yards and caught 6 TDs as a No. 3. Seems like he's been around forever, but he just turned 28.
If Aiyuk stays put or goes elsewhere, and with third-rounder Roman Wilson sidelined the last two weeks with an ankle injury, looks pretty certain that Jefferson will at least be opening as the No. 2. That gives him some value in deeper leagues, although his history suggests it's a pretty low ceiling.
The last three years (mostly with the Rams, but also in Atlanta with current Steelers OC Arthur Smith), Jefferson has either started or played a majority of the time in 40 games. He's one of just 44 wide receivers to log that much playing time. But few have made less of an impact on the stat sheet.
Even when including that solid 2021 season, Jefferson averages just over 2 receptions for 32 yards in those 40 contests. Since catching 6 TDs that year, he totals 3 TDs the last two years. He averages 6.7 PPR points, better than only three wideouts to see the field as often as he has.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME (MINIMUM 40), 2021-2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Tyreek Hill | 49 | 7.1 | 96.9 | .61 | 20.8 |
| Justin Jefferson | 44 | 6.9 | 102.3 | .55 | 20.5 |
| Davante Adams | 50 | 6.5 | 84.3 | .66 | 18.9 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 50 | 6.4 | 84.2 | .59 | 18.8 |
| JaMarr Chase | 44 | 6.0 | 83.9 | .66 | 18.4 |
| Stefon Diggs | 50 | 6.4 | 76.7 | .59 | 17.6 |
| Deebo Samuel | 43 | 4.4 | 67.6 | .72 | 17.4 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 49 | 6.4 | 73.2 | .46 | 16.9 |
| A.J. Brown | 47 | 5.5 | 81.3 | .49 | 16.5 |
| Mike Evans | 48 | 4.8 | 71.1 | .69 | 16.1 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 47 | 5.3 | 72.0 | .40 | 15.1 |
| Chris Godwin | 46 | 6.2 | 68.5 | .28 | 14.8 |
| Michael Pittman | 49 | 6.0 | 64.5 | .31 | 14.5 |
| Amari Cooper | 47 | 4.6 | 69.7 | .48 | 14.5 |
| DJ Moore | 51 | 4.9 | 66.8 | .40 | 14.3 |
| Tee Higgins | 41 | 4.6 | 67.7 | .46 | 14.1 |
| DK Metcalf | 50 | 4.6 | 62.6 | .52 | 14.0 |
| Tyler Lockett | 49 | 4.8 | 63.3 | .46 | 13.9 |
| DeVonta Smith | 50 | 4.8 | 63.6 | .39 | 13.5 |
| Diontae Johnson | 46 | 5.3 | 60.0 | .30 | 13.3 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 49 | 4.2 | 64.4 | .41 | 13.2 |
| Christian Kirk | 46 | 4.7 | 62.5 | .35 | 13.1 |
| Adam Thielen | 47 | 5.1 | 52.3 | .44 | 13.0 |
| Terry McLaurin | 51 | 4.6 | 63.6 | .29 | 12.8 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 47 | 4.7 | 52.7 | .40 | 12.4 |
| Marquise Brown | 42 | 5.0 | 54.5 | .31 | 12.4 |
| Brandin Cooks | 45 | 4.5 | 53.2 | .39 | 12.2 |
| Courtland Sutton | 48 | 3.8 | 49.5 | .30 | 10.5 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 41 | 3.9 | 53.6 | .20 | 10.5 |
| Tyler Boyd | 49 | 3.9 | 46.1 | .25 | 10.1 |
| Gabe Davis | 48 | 2.7 | 44.4 | .42 | 9.6 |
| Darnell Mooney | 44 | 3.5 | 44.6 | .18 | 9.1 |
| Allen Lazard | 42 | 2.9 | 38.4 | .36 | 9.0 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 44 | 3.7 | 36.9 | .25 | 8.9 |
| Elijah Moore | 40 | 3.4 | 39.0 | .20 | 8.7 |
| K.J. Osborn | 50 | 3.2 | 36.9 | .30 | 8.7 |
| Robert Woods | 40 | 3.5 | 37.7 | .21 | 8.6 |
| Darius Slayton | 43 | 2.8 | 42.6 | .19 | 8.2 |
| Kalif Raymond | 41 | 2.7 | 34.9 | .12 | 7.3 |
| Michael Gallup | 40 | 2.7 | 32.2 | .20 | 7.1 |
| Van Jefferson | 40 | 2.2 | 31.8 | .23 | 6.7 |
| Nelson Agholor | 43 | 2.4 | 28.2 | .21 | 6.5 |
| Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | 47 | 1.9 | 26.4 | .28 | 6.3 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 44 | 2.0 | 32.5 | .14 | 6.1 |
Despite all this, I'm not totally unwilling to draft Jefferson. A No. 2 wideout in an offense that will probably pass the ball better than Atlanta last year and the Rams the year before (when Matthew Stafford was hurt much of the season) might put together some viable games, making him worthy of a late pick in deeper leagues, perhaps.
But it's a little easier to understand why Jefferson had such a cool free-agent market. He probably won't do a ton with a starting job, and the Steelers might look to get other wide receivers involved, perhaps Calvin Austin or Roman Wilson, when healthy. Just doesn't seem to be much upside, even if he keeps the role.
--Andy Richardson