Entering the 2024 season, the WR2 spot in Pittsburgh is wide open for the taking. The team currently has a jumbled mess of names in the room behind George Pickens, who is cemented as the team’s WR1 after the departure of Diontae Johnson this offseason to the Carolina Panthers. The Steelers managed to address the position in the draft by selecting Michigan WR Roman Wilson with the 84th pick in the third round. They also brought in WRs Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller and Quez Watkins in free agency, and have former fourth round pick Calvin Austin III returning for his third season after getting his first NFL exposure last year.
The battle for the WR2 spot will be an important one as the Steelers look to replace Johnson’s production in the offense, but as we sit here today, Jefferson presents a strong argument to be the team’s WR2 lining up across Pickens once the season starts.
Don’t get me wrong, Jefferson has vastly underwhelmed during his past two years in the league. Alex Kozora mentioned in his film room breakdown after the Jefferson signing that the receiver posted a 0.56 yards per route run figure in 2023, a poor number that ranked 141st out of 150 wide receivers who ran at least 100 routes in 2023. He also ranked low in several metrics tracked by our own Clayton Eckert.
So why should Jefferson be considered as having a strong case to be this team’s WR2 to start the season? Well, the caveat is that Jefferson should serve in this role until the team deems Roman Wilson ready for a full workload as a receiver that can play inside or outside in their offense. The former Michigan product’s tape suggest that he can contribute both out wide and in the slot.
Until Wilson is ready, however, Jefferson is a logical choice to be this team’s WR2 opposite of Pickens for several reasons. First, Jefferson has shown that he can produce as a starting wide receiver as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He played in five games with Los Angeles last season before getting shipped to Atlanta as the Rams started to utilized WRs Puka Nacua and TuTu Atwell more in their offense. Just two years prior in Jefferson’s only season as a full-time starter, he produced respectable numbers, catching 50 passes on 89 targets for 802 yards (16.0 YPR) and 6 touchdowns, including another 9 receptions for 102 yards in the Rams’ playoff run which ended in a Super Bowl championship.
Jefferson has shown since then that he is capable of playing both inside and outside, having the size, speed and route running savvy to work the intermediate portions of the field, as well as challenge defenses vertically as a deep threat. His 2,250 offensive snaps since coming into the league as a second round pick out of the University of Florida in 2020 are more than Watkins, Miller, and Austin while having more exposure in a starting role than the other receivers battling for the spot. He also has good size compared to Miller and Austin at 6-1, 200 pounds, making him more of a fit as an outside receiver that can better handle blocking assignments and compete in contested catch situations.
Again, this isn’t meant to overhype Jefferson, as he isn’t the ideal WR2 candidate, but he fits the prototype of a compliment to George Pickens who can play on the outside and is a capable route runner with starting NFL experience. If Roman Wilson develops quickly during training camp and flashes in the preseason, Pittsburgh may be motivated to get their rookie receiver on the field sooner rather than later. However, if the team wants to bring along Wilson slowly, Jefferson checks the boxes to fill that role until the rookie is ready to assume that role in Pittsburgh.
