Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan has been on a hot streak this offseason, making incredible trades and even signing a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for next to nothing. The bigger, splashier acquisitions of Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Patrick Queen are overshadowing equally fantastic moves, including the signing of wide receiver Van Jefferson.
Jefferson was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons where he worked with the Steelers' new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round in 2020, after playing for Florida.
The Steelers' wide receiver room is looking pretty empty as they just traded Diontae Johnson and released Allen Robinson II. Jefferson does not eliminate Pittsburgh's need for another receiver, but he does provide excellent depth. Brooke Pryor from ESPN named the Jefferson signing as the Steelers' most underrated move of the offseason.
"The team needed to refill the wide receiver room around George Pickens. Jefferson didn't light the world on fire with his numbers last season, but he spent half the year in Atlanta with new OC Arthur Smith and the familiarity with his scheme should give the offense a steady contributor both in the pass game and run game as a blocker. Plus, Jefferson was a major part of the L.A. Rams' Super Bowl season with 50 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns," Pryor wrote.
Not many people can say they were born on the same day their dad won a Super Bowl, but Jefferson's son Champ can. The family and the Rams' staff were told not to tell Jefferson if his wife Samaria went into labor. So he didn't hear about it until he was celebrating on the field after the Rams secured the victory. He watched his son being born over FaceTime as he went to the hospital, arriving shortly after the delivery.
That remarkable story made bigger headlines than the way Jefferson helped his team win. He had four catches for 23 yards during the Super Bowl, as the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals.
Besides a strong work ethic, Jefferson has something else Head Coach Mike Tomlin loves: a pedigree. His father is former NFL wide receiver Shawn Jefferson, who played for the San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots, Falcons and the Detroit Lions. Shawn is now a receivers coach for the New York Jets.
Jefferson, who signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh, has been called a student of the game. He brings some much-needed depth to a room that needed shaking up. The Steelers will still need to seek another wide receiver either in the draft or a veteran in free agency.
Steelers Could Negotiate A Trade For A Top Receiver
Johnson and Pickens on the roster together proved to be a bit of a disaster, with rumors of discontent running rampant. After trading Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, analysts began to speculate that the Steelers would make a trade for a big-name receiver to bring some leadership to the offense. The name that comes most often is Brandon Aiyuk from the San Francisco 49ers.
One trade scenario that came up was allowing Steelers offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. to go to San Francisco as a part of a package for Aiyuk. Aiyuk certainly fits the bill for Pittsburgh. He is a strong, veteran player who could be a mentor to Pickens. He is entering his fifth year with the 49ers and has been a strong performer with 269 catches on 399 targets for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns.
But the cost for Aiyuk won't be cheap. He is still on his rookie contract, set to earn $14.124 million from the 49ers in 2024, but they have not made a move to extend him. Word broke earlier this offseason that the Jacksonville Jaguars wanted to trade for him, but the deal the 49ers proposed - their 2024 first-round pick and Zay Jones was too rich for their blood.
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