Shawn Jefferson – August 3, 2017
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Thursday, August 3, 2017
Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Jefferson
(Everybody says that you’ve got one of the most talented receiving trios in the NFL. What do you think about that?) – “I would agree with that. I would agree with that. We have three talented receivers and the good thing about it is that they work. They work and they’re very smart too. You guys have seen in the spring how DeVante (Parker), his maturation has been outstanding, and he’s still progressing even through this training camp. I do have three good guys. We’ve just got to continue every day to put the work in and I think we’ll be fine.”
(What’s WR DeVante Parker’s ceiling if he stays healthy and everything comes together?) – “He’ll be a monster. If he keeps progressing like we think he can, he’ll be invited to the ‘Monster Bowl’ after the season is over. His name is not DeVante; he’s a monster. So if he keeps performing like this he’ll get invited to the Monster Bowl after the season is over.
(When did you first see a sign that it had clicked for WR DeVante Parker or it started to click for him?) – “Well, I think, to be honest with you, I think last year it was after the Jets game when he hurt his back. He probably really shouldn’t have played in that Baltimore game, but he came back and played (and) caught a touchdown. He really shouldn’t have played. I think that was the moment right there. That was his moment, that moment that everybody has where their career can go ‘boom-boom.’ That was his moment mentally, that was his moment.”
(The fact that WR DeVante Parker was showing the grit to come back?) – “Absolutely. That was his moment.”
(WR DeVante Parker, he’s a big topic for us and I think it’s because he’s so talented and everyone sees that talent, and want to see it realized. Why do you think so much attention is on DeVante?) – “Well I just think because when you see a guy like him with his talent, his movements, his lateral movement in his hips, and all (of those skills) like that, for a tall guy like that, DeVante has really loose hips. He runs well without the ball. So he has all of those things that you look for in a top-flight receiver. He has that ability to affect the game, i.e. L.A. Rams last year.”
(I saw your top three guys running to the locker room I think, during that period of break. I’m assuming they were checking on QB Ryan Tannehill. How tight is that group?) – “That group is tight, but I’m pretty sure they were going to get in the cold Whirlpool. They better be going to get in the cold Whirlpool and get in there and get the soreness out of their legs and everything like that. We have them on a schedule, so they’re probably going in, (getting) in the cold Whirlpool and trying to get all the soreness out of their legs and everything.”
(How has WR Jarvis Landry handled his contract situation, and have you had to talk to him about putting that out of his mind?) – “I’m being totally honest with you, I have not mentioned anything to Jarvis about it and we don’t discuss it, and that’s the end of that.”
(In your years as a player and as a coach, have you come across many guys with the same fieriness, for lack of a better word, that WR Jarvis Landry displays?) – “Oh, not really. I kind of like my receivers. I like them just … I like them toeing that line. I like them right about to go over that line; but they don’t go over it. That’s the way I like them. But (Jarvis) is an unbelievable player, he’s tough, very smart, (and his) football instincts are off the charts.”
(Why the decision to play WR Jakeem Grant outside, rather than in the slot, and how has he done?) – “I think Jakeem has done well on the outside. It’s just a thing. He still plays both. It’s just a thing that we wanted to see him outside because he has a lot of speed and with that speed, he can stretch the defense.”
(Of the six undrafted first- and second-year receivers, who’s caught your eye among that group?) – “To be honest with you, there’s no depth chart or anything like that. Our nose is to the grindstone and we’re just going, so I don’t even know. They’re still newbies, so I don’t know. Nobody’s caught my eye. We’re just nose to the grindstone and we’re just going.”
(WR Leonte Carroo looks skinny.) – “That’s a good thing, that’s a good thing. He’s trimmed down and I think he’s having a good camp as well.”
(What else is different, from your perspective, about WR Leonte Carroo?) – “His mindset. I think last year coming in, it’s hard for a guy when you’ve been in college and you’ve been the guy, and then you come here and then you have to take a step back. There was a little bit of an adjustment period for him there; but I think mentally, he knows how to handle that. I think mentally he knows his role now. I think he’s trying to fit into his role.”
(Will WR Jarvis Landry make the transformation off of special teams this season and do you have any input in that decision?) – “That I’ll leave on Head Coach (Adam Gase.) I have no input on anything like that. I just coach (the receivers) hard and that’s all I do.”
(Does it matter to you whether WR Jarvis Landry plays special teams this season? Is it a little taxing on him or can he handle it?) – “Check with our head guy (Head Coach Adam Gase) on that.”
(WR Kenny Stills was a big key for the offense last year with all of those touchdown catches. What more can he do to take his game to another level?) – “Catch more touchdown passes, catch more touchdown passes. (laughter) Hopefully we give him a lot more opportunities to catch more touchdown passes. He’s our deep threat guy and he’s also our leader, one of our leaders on the offense. So he’s done well for me. He’s a guy that I know is going to be in the right spot at the right time every single play.”
(They tell my daughter in preschool, ‘You get what you get and you don’t get upset.’ You’ve got three guys that can probably catch 80 passes this season. What do you tell them about that theory?) – “Nothing. Those guys are very unselfish guys so it’s just like when you see a guy make a play in practice, everybody runs down there. So they’re not even thinking about that. Our mindset is, ‘make that play.’ Whoever’s in there, make that play, then we go to the next one. That’s our mindset.”
