Vikings Star Earns Best-in-NFL Kudos
NFL training camps begin cooking with gas next week, and best-in-the-NFL rankings are all the rage in the meantime.
Vikings Star Earns Best-in-NFL Kudos
Heading into 2024, most analysts expect the Minnesota Vikings to approach around seven wins, perhaps on tap for a transformational season due to quarterback uncertainty. However, regarding WR1, the purple team employs the top dog, says ESPN.
He’s Justin Jefferson, and per executives, scouts, and coaches, the 25-year-old leads the pack at his position, voted the top wide receiver in football. “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 Wednesday.
According to the 2024 WR rankings, these are the best in the sport:
- Justin Jefferson
- Tyreek Hill
- Ja’Marr Chase
- CeeDee Lamb
- Davante Adams
No other Vikings wide receiver made the cut in 2024.
“Jefferson’s historic pace through four seasons places him on an early Hall of Fame track. Since his 2020 debut, Jefferson leads all receivers in yards per game (98.4) and most 100-yard games (29),” Fowler added. “Nearly 37% of his catches went for 20-plus yards in 2023, one of the top clips in the NFL.”
Via ESPN’s polling system, Jefferson’s lowest ranking — from someone — checked in at No. 3. Hill and Chase also grabbed at least one first-place vote.
Jefferson nailed down a contract extension last month, 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 2028, though McCarthy still hasn’t signed his rookie deal at the time of this article’s publication.
In 2023, Jefferson missed seven games due to a hamstring injury, 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 nabbed 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 Offensive Player of the Year.
Former Viking Stefon Diggs earned No. 9 on ESPN’s list, even as he faces a possible WR3 assignment with the Houston Texans this season.
Jefferson’s Vikings take on the New York Giants to start the season in 53 days.
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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