New York Jets NFL Draft profile: LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson
For a team that needs help at wide receiver, Justin Jefferson might be the answer for the New York Jets in the upcoming NFL Draft.
The Jets didn’t do a bad job in replacing Robby Anderson, who signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers in late-March. Breshad Perriman on a one-year deal is good business for the Jets and general manager Joe Douglas, representing a low-risk proposition for the rebuilding offense.
And yet, the Jets need more talent and playmakers on an offense that last year featured the speedy Anderson as one of their chief targets. Now with Anderson gone, the Jets likely need to answer this glaring hole on offense in free agency or now, more likely, in a very deep draft class at receiver.
In steps Jefferson, one of the top wide receivers in college football a year ago.
In 2019 as a junior at LSU, he showed up in a major way with 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has good size and is a tremendous route runner.
The SI Big Board: Jefferson checks in at No. 19.
The lowdown on Jefferson: In big moments, Jefferson has done well. He helped the Tigers punch their ticket to the national championship game with 14 catches for 227 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Oklahoma.
Jefferson looks like he will slot in somewhere come Day 2. The Jets, sitting at No. 48, may need to move up to get a wide receiver who checks off a lot of the boxes when it comes to their needs.
Not afraid to go over the middle, Jefferson is a move-the-chains type who also can stretch the field with good football speed. He doesn’t have tremendous YAC, but he takes good angles and uses his strength well.
He is a solid receiver who holds onto the ball and doesn’t mind contact. He isn’t explosive but he gets the job done, is reliable and makes difficult catches. He’s also tough.
Jefferson showed great speed at the NFL Combine, running a 4.43 time in the 40.
Where he fits for the Jets: On a team that needs talent at wide receiver, Jefferson has a good frame and catch radius while having just enough straight-line speed to be effective in the NFL.
He isn’t going to be a big playmaker like a Justin Jeudy or CeeDee Lamb, both projected to be taken in the first round. But Jefferson is a dependable wide receiver who can separate and make plays.
On the Jets, he could make for an intriguing trio alongside the aforementioned Perriman and returning wide receivers Quincy Enunwa and Jamison Crowder.
In the second round, he surely will enter the discussion for the Jets if he is still on the board. If he falls that far, he might be wearing green and white this fall.
