Van Jefferson, Florida
Son of Jets wide receivers coach Shaun Jefferson, Van has all the skills you want in a receiver. He runs perfect, crisp routes and understands how to manipulate his coverage to get open. And he almost never drops a pass. He just hasn’t been in an ideal situation in college to really showcase it.
As a freshman at Ole Miss, he looked every bit the top recruit. Then head coach Hugh Freeze resigned and Jefferson would transfer to Florida. Unfortunately, the Gator offense isn’t big into the passing attack, so Jefferson never put up big numbers there, topping out at 673 yards and 6 touchdowns last season, which, as it happens, still led the team.
He performed well in Senior Bowl practices, which showed he can hang with the better receivers in this class. The 6-2, 197-pounder has the size you like, and the mental makeup you like. And he flashed in his 84 catches over the past two seasons in Gainesville.
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