When looking at the top wide receivers in the NFL, Minnesota Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson is consistently among that group of receivers. While some analysts consider Ja’Marr Chase a better option, or even CeeDee Lamb following his 2023 season, Jefferson is almost always considered a top-three receiver in the league, and for good reason.
Through his first four seasons since being drafted in 2020, the now 25-year-old receiver has accumulated 399 receptions, 5,946 receiving yards, and 30 receiving touchdowns. That ranks as the most receiving yards in NFL history by a player through their first four seasons in the league, giving even more reason to believe Jefferson is among the top pass-catchers currently.
Now, the criticism from at-home GMs isn’t necessarily that the Vikings shouldn’t have retained their young superstar. The main complaint is that the money could’ve been allocated to bolster the rest of the team rather than load the pockets of a single player. There’s truth behind that statement, but not enough truth to make the decision by Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah incorrect.
“Would I rather have a quarterback at this level or a wide receiver at this level or a rusher at this level,” Adofo-Mensah said, via The Star Tribune. “But at the end of the day, studying teams that have gotten to the NFC Championship [Game], AFC Championship [Game], Super Bowl level, there’s a certain amount of talent that it requires.”
There’s a belief that wide receivers nowadays are coming into the league with the skillsets to be stars right out of the gates, and that belief is both true and false.
Since the 2020 NFL Draft, 21 receivers were drafted in the first round, and of those 21, two-thirds have recorded a 1,000-yard season. Diving deeper, seven of those 21 receivers made a Pro Bowl. The reason that information is relevant is because the notion is that NFL teams can statistically rely on receivers in their rookie deal to be NFL stars relatively quickly in the league, and there’s data to back that up.
However, the main reason these stats don’t apply to Jefferson is that not only has he been selected for a Pro Bowl and brought in 1,000 yards receiving within his rookie deal, but he’s doing that consistently.
In Jefferson’s first four seasons in the league, he’s been selected for three Pro Bowls while posting 1,000-plus-yard seasons every season.
In 2022 alone, Jefferson hauled in a league-leading 128 receptions for a league-leading 1,809 yards. Then, that same season, he was voted into the Pro Bowl while earning his first All-Pro nomination. There’s more. Jefferson was also named the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year, as he had one of the best seasons for a receiver in NFL history, marking just the fourth time a receiver earned such an award.
Sure, NFL teams can go out and get a receiver who can make Pro Bowls and have 1,000 yards receiving, but not many receivers come into the league and have the impact Justin Jefferson has had in his first four years.
Some criticized the move to extend Jefferson to a four-year deal worth $140 million, but Adofo-Mensah gave his reasoning with ease.
At the end of the day, studying teams that have gotten to the NFC Championship [Game], AFC Championship [Game], Super Bowl level, there’s a certain amount of talent that it requires.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on why Vikings extended Justin Jefferson
Essentially, the Vikings understand that to get to an NFC Championship game and eventually a Super Bowl, the teams who do it consistently have superstar talent on their roster.
And while the Vikings would save money on their checkbooks by letting Jefferson test free agency, the goal is to win Super Bowls, and Justin Jefferson helps that goal much more than he hurts it.
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