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LSU football’s offense hurt Justin Jefferson as much as it helped him

By Zach Ragan

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson #2 of the LSU Tigers avoids a tackle by Safety K'Von Wallace #12 of the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson #2 of the LSU Tigers avoids a tackle by Safety K'Von Wallace #12 of the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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LSU football wide receiver Justin Jefferson was selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings got one of the biggest steals of the 2020 NFL Draft by selecting LSU football’s Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson, 6-foot-1/202 lbs, was one of the most productive players in the draft.

In 2019, Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Despite that incredible level of production (in the SEC West nonetheless), Jefferson was the fifth wide receiver selected in the draft (behind Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Reagor).

Of course, by now everyone knows why Jefferson wasn’t selected higher. There were a lot of questions concerning Jefferson’s ability to play on the outside as a vertical threat in the NFL (even though he recorded a 4.43 time in the 40 yard dash at the combine).

An unnamed talent evaluator told The Athletic this week that he likes Jefferson “as much as anybody”, saying “he knows how to play”.

But the unnamed talent evaluator also added “The only worry is, a lot of times he was running free. If he gets pressed and has to be sharp in his details, it might be a little struggle for him.”

It essentially sounds like Jefferson was too open at LSU. The Tigers’ offensive coaches — mainly offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing game coordinator Joe Brady — came up with schemes that were too good.

Jefferson was basically penalized by NFL teams because they didn’t see him in a lot of tough one-on-one situations. LSU’s coaches did just a good job of getting Jefferson open, which meant he wasn’t forced to use his 4.43 speed to create opportunities.

The Vikings are the biggest benefactors of this situation. I think they possibly got the best wide receiver in the draft (it’ll be a bit before we know for sure), after four of them had already been selected.

Jefferson, though, is the one that suffers a bit here. The difference in slot money between the No. 12 pick (where Ruggs was selected) and the No. 22 pick is $3.6 million (according to Forbes). That’s a considerable amount of cash — especially for a 21 year old fresh out of college.

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Hopefully Jefferson will be able to make up for it on his next contract. If he’s as good as I think he’s going to be, that shouldn’t be a problem.

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