Justin Jefferson Has a Pretty Nifty Goal
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has yet to reveal a regular goal, such as receiving yards.
Justin Jefferson Has a Pretty Nifty Goal
However, because the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year missed seven games last season due to a hamstring injury, he has one primary goal on the brain — staying healthy.
“I’m so scared for it to happen again that I’ve been overly cautious about it. Just trying to take care of my body in the right way, just trying to find new things that I can implement in my day-to-day life that can better help me throughout the season,” Jefferson told reporters last week.
Jefferson nailed down a contract extension in June, inking a four-year, $140 million deal and making the phenom playmaker the richest non-quarterback in NFL history while solidifying his spot on Minnesota’s roster through the end of the 2028 season. His new agreement attaches him to the Vikings in exact alignment with rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Both have contracts set to expire after the 2028 campaign.
The 25-year-old added about his health goal, “I’ve definitely been working on my hamstrings a little bit more, making sure that I’m injury-proof.”
In 2023, Jefferson missed the aforementioned seven games, and even though the team started winning games the moment he left the starting lineup, the LSU alumnus still managed to grab 1,074 receiving yards in 10 games. Translated to 17 games, Jefferson would’ve captured over 1,800 yards in 2023, his fourth season as a pro. His career-best occurred in 2022 with 1,809 yards, the season that he won OPOY.
Meanwhile, Jefferson has experienced a wild summer in the court of public opinion. When NFL.com finished releasing its annual Top 100 players rankings last week — voted on by NFL players — Jefferson checked in significantly lower than expected at No. 18. The league said seventeen NFLers are better at their craft than Jefferson.
In July, however, ESPN ranked Jefferson as the best wide receiver in the sport. “Jefferson is the wideout king for the second consecutive year despite a ‘down’ year, by his standards, courtesy of a hamstring injury that cost him seven games. But even Jefferson’s 10-game output — 68 catches for 1,074 yards and five scores — is better than most over 17 games,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 17th.
And the ESPN batch of rankings was voted on by executives, scouts, and coaches.
Thankfully for Jefferson’s sake, he’s never encountered habitual injury concerns. He, the Vikings, and the team’s fans will hope his 2023 absence was an outlier.
Jefferson’s Vikings kick off the regular season in 33 days with a date in New Jersey versus the New York Giants.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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