Player: WR Van Jefferson
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran wide receiver continues to make steady strides during the Steelers’ training camp. At this point, most accept that Van Jefferson will be the team’s second receiver this season. He is the most experienced and accomplished, and also has prior experience with Arthur Smith. His recent performances on Chuck Noll Field only reinforce his position in the pecking order, right behind George Pickens. What that means for the team during the regular season, we will have to find out together.
All signs point to Van Jefferson as the Steelers’ second receiver this season, whether good or bad. He has clearly been the most consistent standout performer not named George Pickens, consistency being the key variable.
Signed to just a Veteran Salary Benefit contract in March, Van Jefferson did contribute to a Rams Super Bowl win. He just so happened to do it against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers’ rival, which doesn’t hurt his popularity in the locker room. Granted, he only caught four passes for 23 yards in that Super Bowl—but that’s more than any Steeler has done in a Super Bowl in well over a decade.
Things can still change over the next month, with plenty of time before the regular season begins. The Steelers have made plenty of trades during training camp in the past, so we can’t rule that out. But barring a major move, Van Jefferson is the guy.
That is especially true following rookie Roman Wilson’s ankle injury. The third-round pick started to make some noise early in camp, but now he will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. That puts him well behind the eight ball and basically ensures a starting job for Jefferson.
After all, the other options are not exactly overwhelming, principally Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, and Quez Watkins. All of them have had their moments but not have had Jefferson’s consistency. We still have the preseason to sort things out, and to be fair, we haven’t seen much of Russell Wilson yet. A different quarterback in the mix could shift the competition. But there’s no reason Jefferson wouldn’t play just as well with Wilson as he has with the other quarterbacks.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
