Van

Jefferson

Austin was the Steelers’ primary returner in the team’s win over the Falcons. He was also the team’s second leading receiver with Van Jefferson also catching a pass for one yard. It is difficult to expect Austin or Jefferson to be fantasy relevant in Arthur Smith’s offense.

Wilson suffered an ankle injury at the start of camp and is still working his way back from the issue. He told reporters earlier today he plans to be back soon but didn’t give a specific timetable for his return. Van Jefferson has cemented himself as the second receiver in the Steelers’ offense and will see a full complement of snaps early in the year. His familiarity with Arthur Smith’s scheme makes him a good fit for the offense but isn’t enough to warrant consideration from fantasy managers.

Jefferson played on 15-of-15 first-team snaps alongside George Pickens, establishing himself as a Steelers starter in two-wide receiver sets. The role be a low-yield endeavor for fantasy purposes but he now profiles as a potential late-round flyer in best ball.

Kaboly pencils in free agent signee WR Van Jefferson as the team’s current No. 2 but believes “it would show a lack of awareness and urgency” if the front office opts not to bring in outside talent. Jefferson is best used as a rotational player, having failed to best his 2020 rookie season 1.46 yards per route run average in the three years since. When considering other in-house options, Kaboly did not list third-round rookie Roman Wilson as a candidate which bodes poorly for his access to the fantasy-friendly two-wide receiver sets. A veteran addition would further jeopardize his 2024 relevance.

As the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Gerry Dulac notes, this is nothing more than a depth signing. Still, it’s not a great sign that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is already getting one of “his guys.” Smith and the Falcons traded for Jefferson midway through the 2023 season. He didn’t do much in Atlanta and ended the year with 20 catches for 209 yards. Given the Steelers’ lack of options at receiver, Jefferson could get more run than expected in 2024.

Van Jefferson flashed some big play upside in 2021 with the Rams, finishing with 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns, so when he was traded to the Falcons in 2023, there was some optimism that he would emerge as a reliable second weapon in the receiving corps. However, he totaled just 12 catches on 28 targets for 101 yards in 11 games for the Falcons. The 27-year-old Jefferson will head into the 2024 offseason as a free agent and has previously shown the ability to make big plays down the field, so he could emerge as a fantasy asset depending on where he lands. However, even in the friendliest of environments, he’s probably a late-round deep league target.

Jefferson’s role was set to increase with Drake London (groin) sidelined. While he played a full complement of snaps, Jefferson was a tertiary part of the Atlanta passing attack — even with Mack Hollins (ankle) out for the second half. Jefferson should remain on the waiver wire.

Jefferson has succeeded in passing Mack Hollins on the depth chart, but it is predictably not mattering in this run-based offense. Even if Drake London (groin) misses Week 9 against the Vikings and Taylor Heinicke replaces Desmond Ridder for good after Ridder was benched for today’s second half, Jefferson has no path to weekly WR4/5 value.

Jefferson played on 26.5 percent of the offensive snaps in his Week 6 debut, but saw that number ramp up to 49.2 percent in Week 7. Aside from Drake London, Jefferson was the only Falcons receiver to run double digit routes (16), but saw just one target on the day. Jefferson isn’t fantasy relevant at this time, but it’s worth noting that in less than two weeks he appears to have overtaken Mack Hollins as the team’s WR2. Jefferson’s role should continue to grow in the coming weeks, but he’ll be hard to trust for fantasy until he sees consistent targets.

The notable takeaway here is that Jefferson’s snaps were only seven fewer than Mack Hollins, who was the WR2 in snap share. While Drake London dominated to the tune of 68 snaps, Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge, Scotty Miller, and Jefferson were all within a handful of snaps of one another. Jefferson seeing significant snaps despite being with the team for less than a week is a good indicator he could soon see be in a WR2 role with his new team. He was narrowly missed for a 50-plus yard score by Desmond Ridder in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders and was targeted twice on the afternoon. There’s no reason to rush to add Jefferson this week, but his snaps will be worth watching in the coming weeks.