ClutchPoints
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a 14-3 season in which they earned the best record in NFL history of any team that did not win their division title. Head coach Kevin O’Connell knows that his team has multiple areas of strength, and one spot he knows that will regularly come through is the wide receiver position.
Justin Jefferson is the key to this position. Not only is he the Vikings’ best receiver, he may very well be the best receiver in the NFL. If he is not No. 1 in that ranking, he’s no worse than No. 3 behind Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals and CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys.
Jefferson has been both spectacular and consistent in his production for the Vikings. He was selected out of LSU with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2020 Draft. As he prepares to play in Minnesota’s Week 2 game against the Atlanta Falcons, he is on the verge of making history.
The 26-year-old is one reception away from reaching the 500 mark in his career. When he makes his first catch against the Falcons, Jefferson will become the youngest receiver to reach that level in NFL history.
Jefferson has been on the road to greatness since his first day in a Vikings uniform. He was the offensive rookie of the year in 2020, and he has been a four-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro.
Jefferson has had 103 receptions or more three times as he starts the sixth year of his career. He had his most productive season in 2022 when he caught 128 passes for 1,809 yards and 8 touchdowns.
The wide receiver is working with a new quarterback again this season as J.J. McCarthy has been installed as the team’s QB1. McCarthy was the team’s first-round pick in the 2024 Draft, but he suffered a meniscus injury in training camp and did not play as a rookie. Prior to this season, he collaborated with QB Kirk Cousins in 2023 and Sam Darnold last season.
McCarthy played his first regular-season game in Week 1 against the Bears and he led the Vikings to a come-from-behind 27-24 triumph. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the fourth quarter. One of his TD passes was a 13-yarder to Jefferson, and that score triggered the Minnesota comeback.
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