WATCH: Matthew Stafford throws long, unusual touchdown to Van Jefferson

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is off to a hot-start in his new home with the Los Angeles Rams after he connected on a deep strike to Rams’ second-year wide receiver Van Jefferson.

Watch as he launches this 67-yard touchdown bomb to Jefferson.

MATTHEW STAFFORD WELCOME TO LA
pic.twitter.com/QgYQpMtMV2

— PFF (@PFF) September 13, 2021

The touchdown pass was an unusual one, where Jefferson caught it, landed, and he wasn’t touched by Chicago defenders. So he got up and raced to the end zone.

In 2020, Jefferson hauled in 19 catches for 220 yards and one touchdown.

Van Jefferson Florida career

Jefferson appeared in 48 games during his college career. He finished his career with 2,159 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, while bringing in 175 total catches.

In 2019 at Florida, Jefferson hauled in 49 catches for 657 yards and six touchdowns for the Gators. He set new career highs in three different categories:  eight receptions at LSU, 129 yards against Virginia and a 69-yard catch vs. UT-Martin.

Van Jefferson Ole Miss career

In 2017 while at Ole Miss, Jefferson was second on the team with 42 catches. The Brentwood, Tennessee native also hauled in 456 receiving yards and one touchdown. His best game of the season came against Kentucky when he hauled in 10 catches for 94 yards.

In 2016 as a freshman at Ole Miss, Jefferson snagged 49 catches for 543 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air.

A former four-star prospect coming out of Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee), he was selected to the U.S. Army All-American game, one of the top honors for any high school football prospect. The 6-foot-2 receiver also participated in Nike’s The Opening camp, one of the top camps for high school football prospects in America. The Tennessee native was named as a finalist for Mr. Football in Tennessee in the back category for Class AAA.

Matthew Stafford Prospect Profile

Stafford is one of the highest-ranked quarterback prospects to ever come through the recruiting cycle. The former five-star prospect was rated as one of the top quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school in the 2006 class. He played for Highland Park (Dallas, Texas) coming out of high school.

The Texas native threw for 7,731 passing yards while tossing in 51 touchdowns and 33 interceptions for his entire Georgia career. His best season at Georgia came in 2008 when he completed 235 of his 383 passing attempts for 3,459 yards while tossing in 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Stafford’s 25 touchdown passes in 2008 broke the previous Georgia record of 24, set by D.J. Shockley (2005) and Eric Zeier (1993, 1994). His 3,459 yards passing in 2008 were the second-most in Georgia football history, surpassed only by Zeier’s 3,525 yards in 1993.

In his previous 12 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Stafford has thrown for over 45,000 yards and 282 touchdown passes, while tossing in 144 interceptions.

You can read more about his journey in the 2021 off-season to the LA Rams here.