The reason Pro Football Focus is down on LSU WR Justin Jefferson

LSU football wide receiver Justin Jefferson is expected to be one of the top wide receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Of all the wide receivers to participate in the 2020 NFL Draft combine, it was likely LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson who helped his stock the most.

Jefferson was incredible for the Tigers in 2019, catching 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns.

But despite Jefferson’s tremendous production last season, there were still numerous draft pundits that had some questions about the dynamic wide receiver. Specifically, there were doubts about Jefferson’s speed.

Those doubts were put to rest at the combine when Jefferson ran a 4.43 in the 40 yard dash. That’s elite speed. And that should be enough to vault Jefferson into at least the top 25 in the upcoming draft.

One of the leading voices in football analytics, however, doesn’t see it that way.

Pro Football Focus, an analytically driven website that provides services for all 32 NFL teams, isn’t as high on Jefferson as some others.

In fact, PFF has Jefferson ranked as the No. 9 overall wide receiver in the draft.

And here’s why.

Via PFF:

"We here at PFF aren’t nearly as high on Justin Jefferson as other scouts and media outlets for three primary reasons: (1) most of his production was schemed through underneath routes or from finding a hole in the zone (815 such yards led the FBS by nearly 100), (2) he faced press coverage on just 17% of his routes in 2019 and (3) when he did go up against defensive backs in single coverage, he performed poorly, producing just the 60th best receiving grade in 2018 and failing to crack the top 100 on such plays in 2019."

I can’t argue with their data. Numbers don’t lie. But how those numbers are interpreted can differ. Perhaps underneath routes were just the best way for LSU to utilize Jefferson.

Plus, the tape doesn’t lie, either. Jefferson has tremendous hands, he runs crisp routes and he’s great after the catch.

And now we know he’s fast, too.

Jefferson has a track record of elite production and ideal attributes for a wide receiver.

What more could an offensive coordinator want?

I respect the work PFF does. But sometimes I think they make it too much about the numbers and not enough about the player.

This is one of those instances.