Justin Jefferson’s Big Season Is Flying Under Everyone’s Radar
Despite less-than-elite play and uncertainty from the quarterback position, Justin Jefferson is again putting together another great season. We should expect nothing else from one of the league’s star players.
VikingsTerritory takes a look at how Justin Jefferson is quietly putting together another great season.
It was a slow start for Jefferson in the first two games with J.J. McCarthy under center, where he only managed 125 receiving yards from seven catches — though he hasn’t scored a touchdown since catching a McCarthy pass in Week 1, after managing 75 yards in Carson Wentz’s first game in Week 3 and what was looking like a quiet start to the season for the Vikings WR1.
Justin Jefferson Is Doing Justin Jefferson Things
It has been back-to-back 100-yard games for the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year.
Arguably, the highest praise you can give Jefferson is that he has proven himself quarterback-proof. No matter who has been back there throwing the ball — and there have been many across the six seasons he has played in the league — Jefferson has always delivered.
There hasn’t been a big game with McCarthy yet but there has t been much opportunity either. It will be interesting to see if the connection Jefferson and Wentz started to build over the last couple of games has any bearing on the upcoming QB decision-making in Minnesota.
Justin Jefferson on Track for 1500+ Receiving Yards Again
In any season in which Jefferson has not missed time (injury, backup as a rookie), he has cleared the 1500-yard mark. A career high of 1809 yards was achieved in 2022, while his tally in his rookie season of 1400 set the rookie receiving yards record — since broken by Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. Even when a hamstring limited him to just 10 games, he broke the 1000 receiving yards barrier — a major target for most receivers across a full season.
Through five games of the 2025 season, Jefferson is on pace to eclipse 1500 receiving yards once again. The stat line so far reads 29 receptions from 42 targets for 449 yards. Averaging 89.8 yards per game, over a 17-game season, that equals 1527 yards. Considering it’s been a slow start to the season for the Vikings offense, the wideout will probably want more than that.
The Record Breaker
Not only has Jefferson been named Offensive Player of the Year, but he also counts 2x first-team All-Pro, 2x second-team All-Pro, 4x Pro Bowl, 1x receptions leader, 1x receiving yards leader, and All-Rookie team among the accolades he has received.
He is stacking the records for receiving yards through each season played in the league. To break the record for most receiving yards through six seasons, Jefferson needs 495 more yards this season – barring injury, you would expect him to do it comfortably. He would surpass Torry Holt and Vikings legend Randy Moss (the current leader) if he were to do it.
The fact that Jefferson has managed all these feats despite operating with multiple QBs – and some of them not very good should not be overlooked. It’s an incredible achievement that speaks to the man’s talent.
Whether it’s McCarthy, Wentz, or even Max Brosmer throwing the ball, you can expect Jefferson to keep making plays and tick off another great season in purple. It’s just a case of how big he can go. Can he threaten that 1800+ season from 2022?
We will need to see more consistency from the QB position, but with Jefferson, anything seems possible.
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