Somebody Was Out of the Their Mind with Justin Jefferson’s WR Ranking
Dustin Baker
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On the whole, Justin Jefferson fared just fine via ESPN’s wide receiver rankings this week.
NFL executives, coaches, and scouts agreed Jefferson was the league’s best WR heading into 2023, placing ahead of Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders), Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals), and Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins).
Somebody Was Out of the Their Mind with Justin Jefferson’s WR Ranking
That part was fine, and justice was served.
Where it gets a little weird, though, involved one person’s individual ranking for Jefferson. Somebody — an anonymous soul — ranked Jefferson as the NFL’s seventh-best wide receiver. And that would be akin to someone claiming Steph Curry is around the seventh-best shooter in the NBA.
It doesn’t make sense.
Perhaps a man or woman could make the case for Adams or Hill still claiming the top spot — even that would be a little weird — and there wouldn’t be much to fuss about. Yet, seventh is total malarkey and unbecoming of one’s status as an NFL executive, coach, or scout. Maybe the ranker was a rogue Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears enthusiast.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained Jefferson’s best-in-the-business status, “Not many NFL players at any position are as relentless as Jefferson, whose 4,825 receiving yards since 2020 is a league record for a player’s first three seasons. The Vikings gave Jefferson a massive 32.2% target share, and he rarely disappointed, becoming the third receiver in NFL history to record back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons, joining Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown.”
Fowler then mentioned Jefferson’s weakness while leaving the No. 7 culprit unidentified, “If Jefferson has a weakness, evaluators say, it’s attacking press-man coverage from bigger cornerbacks who will wrestle him, knowing officials can’t catch every holding call.”
Jefferson has two years left on his contract with the Vikings and is expected to fetch a ginormous extension sometime this summer. All parties — Jefferson, head coach Kevin O’Connell, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — have claimed for six months that a deal is imminent.
Via Fowler, one executive opined about the 24-year-old, “You can put him in all 32 offenses, and he will produce and fit in seamlessly.”
Vikings training camp begins Sunday, and Jefferson will attend Tuesday when veterans report — with or without his contract extension. Minnesota’s Week 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicks off in 54 days.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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