Jan 15, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) looks on during warmups before a wild card game against the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
Most Minnesota Vikings fans — and casual NFL followers — have no problem classifying wide receiver Justin Jefferson as a Top 10 player in the business, if not Top 5.
Jefferson’s peers evidently disagree.
As NFL.com continues to release its annual Top 100 players rankings — voted on by NFL players —Jefferson checked in significantly lower than expected on Wednesday at No. 18. The league says seventeen NFLers are better at their craft than Jefferson.
If asked to predict this countdown heading into Wednesday, Jefferson, almost universally, may have received Top 5 votes. No. 18 placement, aside from the jersey number coincidence, is truly mind-boggling.
The reasoning? Well, Jefferson missed seven games in 2023, battling a hamstring injury during the guts of the regular season — and then that’s about it for sensible rationale. He was apparently penalized for the injury via NFL players’ voting. There is no other explanation.
Meanwhile, despite missing those seven games last year, Jefferson still tabulated 1,074 receiving yards on 68 catches, so it’s not like the man had a quiet year. Perhaps by his standards, but few criticized Jefferson for an injured hamstring at the time.
Last year, in the same batch of player-voted rankings, Jefferson claimed the No. 2 spot, trailing only Patrick Mahomes, who backed up the tops-in-the-sport designation by winning another Super Bowl six months later. If you’re keeping score at home, Jefferson fell 16 spots in one year.
This offseason, everything related to Jefferson centered around his contract extension, which was ultimately locked in eight weeks ago. Minnesota’s front office and Jefferson’s camp worked toward this deal for about a year and a half, and it was consummated in June. He’ll be a Viking through the end of 2028 on a four-year, $140 million price tag.
Jefferson personally tweeted his gratitude when the deal finalized. “Something that once was a dream is now my reality. There are so many people that I can sit here and thank but you all know who you are that helped me along the way. But we ain’t stopping here … There’s more to be done… SKOL!!!!!!!” he wrote on the X app.
Joe Burrow, Jefferson’s college teammate and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, seemed to be punished as well for a 2023 injury, fetching a No. 39 ranking on this year’s Top 100. He previously ranked at No. 9 in the last batch.
Thankfully, Jefferson will probably use the strange ranking as revenge fuel, and the Vikings’ regular season is 5.5 weeks away.
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.