4. Justin Jefferson, LSU
Size: 6-1, 202
The Good: There’s an aspect of the presumptive first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft that no one likes to tackle about other than Joe Burrow.
Joe Burrow isn’t Joe Burrow without Justin Jefferson.
The LSU receiving corps was loaded, and everyone got to eat – Ja’Marr Chase had a whole lot to do with this, too – but Jefferson was the one who made everything look so easy.
That’s not totally fair – Burrow was beyond brilliant – but throw the ball up Jefferson in a mile-wide radius, and he’ll go get it. He finished with 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns, and then he walked into Indianapolis and ran a 4.43 at the combine.
#LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson ran an unofficial 4.44 second 40-yard dash. pic.twitter.com/YE42uKZ5Fd
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) February 27, 2020
The Not-So-Good: He was just okay when he got jammed. Better when he got a release and then got to go after the ball when it was in the air, he might turn out to be a tougher-than-expected NFL receiver to figure out. He’s got the speed, and he made a whole lot of plays down the field, but his bread was buttered on the midrange plays to keep everything going.
NFL Draft College Perspective Thought: The guy caught 165 passes over the last two seasons and came through time and again in the biggest of games. The more NFL teams saw him this offseason, the more they fell in love with the possibilities. He might not turn out to be the flashiest receiver in the draft, but there’s a whole lot of Michael Thomas to his game.
Projected Round: First