Justin Jefferson
With the Vikings holding a 7-8 record, teetering on playoff-picture elimination – it is more than reasonable to be frustrated with the franchise.
But criticizing the offensive decision-makers for not “getting Justin Jefferson the ball enough” is a small-minded grievance.
Why? Because Jefferson is on the cusp of accruing more targets in an offense during a player’s first two seasons in NFL history (or at least since the statistic of targets began tracking in 1992).
Before 1992, the NFL was a run-happy place, so it is unlikely someone else was targeted more than the players of post-1992.
Through the first two seasons of an NFL career, these are the players with the most targets, for now:
If Jefferson is targeted 15 times in total against the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, he will become the most-targeted NFL player ever in the first two years of a career.
And that’s all inside a run-first offense installed in Minnesota when Vikings coach Mike Zimmer arrived in 2014.
Zimmer is evolving – perhaps begrudgingly – to pass the football more frequently. The league seemingly demands it, and the Vikings have the pass-catchers for it in Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
This is why Jefferson is breaking records – like the one he shattered last week in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Jefferson now has the most receiving yards ever for a player through two seasons. Remember, too, Jefferson set the NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in 2020.
The man is being targeted by quarterback Kirk Cousins. This is elementary. He is not neglected. It’s the opposite, in fact. Minnesota involves Jefferson in its offense to the utmost.
Of course, the theory exists to throw the ball in Jefferson’s direction even more. Fine. The Vikings might just do it in the coming seasons. Yet, at his current pace, Jefferson is targeted a boatload. It’s only because the Vikings are losing games that fans are spitballing a “lack of targets” to blame.
The logical problem is – Jefferson’s early-career targets are not the source of Minnesota’s 2020 and 2021 woes. In 2020, the Vikings ranked 27th in the NFL for yards allowed on defense. The ranking became even worse in 2021, sinking to 29th in the business – or fourth-worst through 16 weeks.
A blame-game finger should be pointed at the defensive follies amid the last two seasons – not “Justin Jefferson’s targets.” He’s doing just fine in that department.
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Ultimately, the head coach is accountable for defense – especially a defensive-minded skipper – so Zimmer can be adjudicated on the defensive shortcomings. He’ll probably be terminated for it soon.
But blaming Zimmer or the offensive coordinator for “not targeting Jefferson enough” is lunacy rooted in complaining for the sake of complaining. The Vikings are targeting Jefferson – they’re just inconveniently not doing the other football intangibles to win more games.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).