What NFL teams are/were saying pre-draft:
Joel Buchsbaum on Shawn Jefferson in 1991: “Fine athlete. Quick and fluid. Has a burst and deep speed. Soft hands. Catches well. Adjusts to the ball. Can return kickoffs. Improves every year. Lacks weight and bulk. Skinny. Rumor has it he has a hearing problem that must be looked into. Must make sure he can hear audibles. Has not faced top competition.”
AFC East scout on Van Jefferson: “When he was a freshman at Ole Miss, you could see that he was on a different level running routes than those other cats. He’s not more talented than DK (Metcalf) or AJ Brown, but he might be more skilled.”
Son reflects on his NFL father:
“My dad was really hard on me growing up. He pushed me a lot. Pushed me to be the best I can be. It got me here. Growing up as a kid, you don’t see it at that moment but now that you get older you kind of see the things that he taught you and you see the things that he told you, trying to tell you so that you’d be ready for this moment. Me and my dad bumped heads sometimes, but that’s just father-son. But everything he taught me has led me to this moment, so I can’t thank him enough.”
Who will be the higher draft pick, father or son?
Son, Van Jefferson.
Shawn Jefferson was drafted No. 240 overall in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft, which was before the NFL Draft was cut down to seven rounds in 1994. The most well-known player drafted in the ninth round that year? ESPN’s Louis Riddick, who was drafted eight picks after Jefferson and played eight seasons in the NFL. But to Jefferson’s credit, he translated that late-round selection into a 13-year playing career followed by a 14-year coaching career as a wide receiver coach, currently with the New York Jets.
Despite a fracture in his foot that was discovered at the combine, the younger Jefferson won’t have to wait as long to hear his name called in April. He isn’t a dynamic yards-after-catch threat and struggles to separate vertically, but his patterns show the refinement you would expect from the son of an NFL wide receivers coach. Jefferson’s routes and releases are why he has a good chance to be drafted in the top-100 picks and should see NFL snaps very early in his rookie year. Father and son share the same name (Vanchi LaShawn Jefferson) and soon they could be sharing the same sideline.
https://theathletic.com/1699056/2020/04/02/nfl-prospect-hopefuls-compared-to-their-nfl-fathers/
