Player: WR Van Jefferson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Veteran WR Van Jefferson just lost some of his value with the Steelers’ acquisition of Mike Williams. While he started contributing more in the passing game with Russell Wilson at quarterback, he will likely begin taking more of a back seat. It may not happen immediately, but he will soon become the Steelers’ fourth or fifth target. In fact, he may start spending much more time on the bench.
Van Jefferson didn’t cost the Steelers much, and that is certainly a good thing in hindsight. While he has begun seeing a bigger role in the passing game, that is not likely to last long. Hovering between the second and third receiver roles, he is now squarely third, at best, if not fourth. That is thanks to the Steelers adding Mike Williams via trade at the expense of a fifth-round pick.
The Steelers don’t make a move like that if they feel good about Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III as their top three receivers along with George Pickens. In fact, this move was merely the culmination of a long pursuit of a starting wide receiver. And they set their sights much higher than Mike Williams at the beginning, starting with Brandon Aiyuk.
Signed to a one-year, Veteran Salary Benefit deal, Van Jefferson has served his role for the Steelers. In eight games, he has played 359 snaps, more than two-thirds of their total. Despite extensive playing time, he has only seen 21 targets, making 14 catches for 139 yards and one touchdown.
Over just the past two games since installing Russell Wilson at quarterback, however, Jefferson has had six catches on eight targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. In other words, he had about half of his production in a quarter of the season, plus his lone score. And most of that came in Week 8.
While he should see a decreased role that doesn’t mean Jefferson is going anywhere. He is still a key blocker for the offense, so he will not only dress but play. I don’t know that I see many targets his way, however, once Mike Williams is fully up and running.
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.
