Intriguing landing spot for LSU football’s Justin Jefferson in latest mock draft
By Zach Ragan
Where will former LSU football wide receiver Justin Jefferson get selected in the 2020 NFL Draft?
With just a few weeks to go until the 2020 NFL Draft, we’ve reached peak mock draft season. And one of the former LSU football players that I’m most interested to see where he ends up is wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Most recent mock drafts have had Jefferson going anywhere from No. 19 to the Oakland Raiders, No. 21 to the Philadelphia Eagles or No. 24 to the New Orleans Saints.
The most recent mock draft from The Athletic, however, has a new landing spot for Jefferson that’s quite intriguing.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Jefferson falling to the Green Bay Packers at No. 30.
Brugler notes that Green Bay doesn’t typically draft wide receivers on day one of the draft, but says Jefferson is too talented for the Packers to pass on him.
I certainly agree with Brugler that there’s no way Green Bay would pass on Jefferson in the first round. But I also can’t see a scenario where Jefferson falls that far in the draft — especially after he ran a 4.43 in the 40 yard dash at the combine earlier this offseason (most draft pundits incorrectly assumed he’d run a slower time).
Jefferson’s surprising speed, combined with his elite level of production in 2019 (111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns), makes him one of the best prospects in this year’s draft.
With Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy expected to go in the top 15, it’s hard to imagine Jefferson lasting all the way to the end of the first round. Once a run on wide receivers starts, it’s unlikely to stop.
But if Jefferson does last that long, it will be tremendous for his career. Landing in Green Bay and getting to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers? That sounds like a dream come true for any wide receiver.
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Whoever selects Jefferson is getting a future stud. And whichever wide receiver needy team passes on him, is going to spend a lot of years regretting it.