One Viking Just Made the NFL’s All-Budget Team
Justin Jefferson is so good that, as the Minnesota Vikings’ most expensive player, he still made the cut for the NFL’s “All Salary Cap Team.”
NFL.com debuted its “All Salary Cap Team” for 2025 — a roster of the league’s best value players — and one Viking got the nod. Oddly, it’s not who you’d think.
Yes, that team is apparently a thing, and yes, Jefferson made the cut.
He’s the only Viking who received all-salary-cap kudos, but he alone is enough to turn heads.
The Budget Team Drafts Justin Jefferson
The Vikings’ phenom playmaker isn’t usually known for contractual value, per se.
Justin Jefferson Somehow Named to “All Salary Cap Team”
Six receivers earned nomination on NFL.com’s Tom Blair’s budget team, including Jefferson, foremost, along with Puka Nacua and Ladd McConkey, Nico Collins, Khalil Shakir, and KaVontae Turpin,
Blair wrote about the sixsome, “The Chiefs have spent the past few seasons trying to work out the right mix of receivers for Patrick Mahomes to throw to, but I did not have that problem. As with Saquon Barkley above, Justin Jefferson is one of the top talents at his position, a prodigious pass-catcher whose partnership with Mahomes would generate enough electricity to power a small town — and yet, his 2025 cap figure is nestled cozily low among WRs, at 12th, just below CeeDee Lamb and just above Jakobi Meyers.”
“As a former fifth-round pick heading into Year 3, Puka Nacua’s hit is so low ($1.1 million) and his on-field presence is so impactful (his 1,157 career yards after the catch rank fourth-highest in the NFL over the past two seasons) that I basically had no choice but to pencil him in across from Jefferson. With two legitimate stars alongside him, Ladd McConkey should be even better in the slot than he was as the Chargers’ main receiving option in 2024, when he finished with the second-most yards out of that alignment in the NFL (801), per NGS.”
The secret for Jefferson’s inclusion is his 2025 cap number: $15.1 million. He otherwise earns $35 million annually. So that was Blair’s hack.
Blair added, “Khalil Shakir was given an extension after emerging as Josh Allen’s top target in 2024; his cap figure doubles in 2026 and jumps to double-digits in each year after. But that is not my problem. For now, his minuscule 2025 hit allows me to make a luxury choice in the extreme at WR5, where I set aside $8.6 million for Nico Collins, who ranks ninth in the NFL over the past two seasons in receiving yards (2,303) and sixth in yards per catch (15.6).”
“KaVontae Turpin is here as the NFL’s premium kick returner, having posted the highest per-return average (33.5 yards) in a single season by any player since Jim Duncan managed 35.4 in 1970.”
Although the “team” is a bit strange in the first place, Jefferson, with his $15 million 2025 cap number, makes sense.
An Odd Choice
Jefferson is the NFL’s second-highest-paid wideout behind his college teammate, Ja’Marr Chase. Chase landed a meaty extension this offseason, placing him about $5 million per season ahead of his pal.
Therefore, if one told Vikings fans that one purple player would be included in the all-budget team, well, Jefferson wouldn’t even remotely grace their radar.
Again, however, because of Jefferson’s smallish 2025 cap hit of $15 million, Blair found a way to onboard him.
Jefferson’s Impact on the Vikings
Jefferson is the face of the Vikings and has arguably owned the job title since the start of 2021. He’s the team’s best player, with no arguments from anybody, thriving with various quarterbacks, including Kirk Cousins, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Sam Darnold over the last five years.
This season, he’ll try J.J. McCarthy on for size, and fans will hope that duo clicks to the tune of a long overdue Super Bowl.
Think: JJ to JJ.
Vikings’ Actual Budget Players
Minnesota, itself, has plenty of “bargain” players — men who could formulate an all-budget team like Blair’s.
Excluding rookies because they are inherently affordable, these value-based players stand off the page:
- Blake Cashman, LB ($7.5m)
- Theo Jackson, S ($3m)
- Josh Metellus, S ($4m)
- Ryan Kelly, C ($9M)
- Isaiah Rodgers, CB ($5.5m)
Rodgers and Jackson, especially, will become outstanding values if they flourish in starters’ roles.
Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix at QB
Blair also accounted for the quarterback spot, nominating Patrick Mahomes and Bo Nix for his budget team.
He explained, “I could load up on all the star power I wanted elsewhere on the field, but this is the position that will determine the success of my roster. And while I admire the real-world savvy of teams that can calibrate the right supporting cast around a sensibly priced rookie or capable veteran, I didn’t have to play those games in the realm of make-believe.”
“With all $279.2 million of the cap at my disposal at this point, I could take anyone. In fact, I was tempted to build around Lamar Jackson’s $43.5 million cap hit, just to play out my theory that it is possible to devote massive resources to a generational talent and still field a winning team.”
Mahomes is still considered the best player in the sport, and Nix showed flashes of promise as a rookie in 2024.
Blair continued, “I just couldn’t justify passing on one of the only QBs I’d take over Jackson in a start-from-scratch situation, especially when Patrick Mahomes is also a generational talent with a cap hit — ranked 14th at the position — that makes him, absurdly, a value choice. As for the backup spot, I didn’t want to settle for the kind of safe, replacement-level vet so many teams default to when I could earmark a measly $4.2 million for someone who could actually win games if needed.”
“To me, using one of my four first-round slots on Bo Nix is eminently worthwhile if it means safeguarding this super-team against any bad luck with Mahomes.”
The NFL regular season gets underway in 58 days.
Beloved Ex-Viking Wants Back In
You must be logged in to post a comment.