Van Jefferson Week 1 Outlook - 49ers at Steelers

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Sun, Sep 10th 2023, 12:05pm EDT

Without Kupp, Van Jefferson projects to slide in as the de-facto No. 1 WR versus the Seattle Seahawks. From Weeks 10-18 without Kupp last season, Jefferson was the WR39 coming off a major injury. But his 14% target rate was abysmal, as Higbee led the team in total targets. Still, Jefferson commanded basically everything downfield, with a 40% air yards share...which ranked 10th among all WRs over that span. How much of Jefferson's actual production that was either injury/QB-related remains to be seen. At least you can bet that Jefferson will be out there running a ton of routes like the locked-and-loaded No. 1 WR with a golden opportunity. He earned 7 targets the last time he faced Seattle, catching three for 61 yards. View him as a top-40 WR for Week 1, with volume likely coming his way. Considering some of the roster holes you might be faced with due to some high-priced fantasy studs being zeroes for Week 1, you could do worse than flexing Jefferson in a full-time role. Just note that Jefferson's probably more of a floor play versus a Seahawks defense that was extremely stingy versus perimeter WRs last season, allowing the fewest fantasy points to WRs aligned outside.