ESPN Sparks Backlash with Justin Jefferson Ranking
ESPN has named Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson the 59th-most valuable player in the NFL. That’s not a typo. Per the Worldwide Leader in Sports, a performer like Chris Olave of the New Orleans Saints is more valuable to his team.
Jefferson stays the same problem for defenses; the ranking mainly spotlights how shaky quarterback play can ruin perception.
Drake Maye took home top honors, according to ESPN’s MVP ranking system, while Jefferson barely cracked the Top 60.
Jefferson at No. 59 on ESPN MVP List
ESPN says 58 other players are more valuable to their teams than Jefferson
It’s No. 59 for Jefferson, Says ESPN
Foremost, ESPN’s Seth Walder describes his process in this way:
To evaluate players, I rely on a variety of sources — statistics and quantitative metrics, awards such as the All-Pro team, and feedback from NFL front office personnel and colleagues at ESPN. One of my favorite parts about football is that player evaluation is far from a settled science. Every season, including this one, someone I trust in the league will tell me I have a player ranked far too high and another person I have similar trust in will tell me that same player is ranked far too low.
In this exercise, we are measuring player value relative to average at respective positions. So we will almost certainly have quarterbacks at the very top — it is the highest-leverage position — but also cannot have more than 16 on the list. This also means we will have more edge rushers than centers, for example. And this is an entirely descriptive exercise about only the 2025 season.
And per that system, the ESPN MVP voting shook out like this:
- Drake Maye (NE, QB)
- Dak Prescott (DAL, QB)
- Matthew Stafford (LAR, QB)
- Josh Allen (BUF, QB)
- Jordan Love (GB, QB)
- Patrick Mahomes (KC, QB)
- Justin Herbert (LAC, QB)
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA, WR)
- Puka Nacua (LAR, WR)
- Myles Garrett (CLE, EDGE)
After Garrett, Jefferson checked in 49 spots later at No. 59.
A Quiet Season by Jeffersonian Standards
Three seasons ago, Jefferson checked in at No. 5 in the league’s MVP voting, and he took home the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award. Those days are on hold.
Jefferson registered 84 catches for 1,048 yards and just 2 touchdowns in 2025. In the aforementioned 2022 season, he compiled over 1,800 yards with Kirk Cousins and friends. That’s akin to a low-end WR2 stat sheet subtracted from Jefferson’s bottom line.
The Vikings playmaker will turn 27 this summer, and with hopefully a productive quarterback, Jefferson will eye a return to his 1,500+ yard campaigns as soon as this September.
Poor QB Play
So, what happened? Easy — the quarterbacking. Minnesota uncharacteristically fielded underwhelming quarterbacks in 2025, betting it all on J.J. McCarthy, a risk that was undone by poor performance from McCarthy in his first six starts and about four injuries throughout the season.
Forty-nine quarterbacks logged at least 80 dropbacks in 2025. The Vikings accounted for three of them: McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer.
Within that 49-quarterback sample, Minnesota’s EPA+CPOE results landed here:
- Carson Wentz: 22nd of 49
- Max Brosmer: 43rd of 49
- J.J. McCarthy: 47th of 49
Teams with playoff aspirations usually live closer to the league’s middle tier at quarterback, and Minnesota didn’t get there with any consistency. The bar to compete in the NFC North wasn’t utterly elite quarterback play; Minnesota just needed an average quarterback, which it did not have.
What the Vikings received instead was a season defined by extended stretches of ineffective quarterbacking, interrupted only by isolated clutch sequences and a handful of strong McCarthy outings. Jefferson suffered accordingly due to the overall downturn.
2024 Vikings Draft Crush Drake Maye Cleans Up
Maye didn’t suffer, though.
Walder called him the league MVP and explained, “Maye might not be the NFL MVP when it is announced Feb. 5 … but he should be. And while it was a close race throughout the season, I don’t think it was really that close at the end. Maye finished as the NFL’s QBR leader by a healthy margin, with his 77.2 being well ahead of that of the next-highest finisher (Jordan Love at 72.9).”
“And because QBR already adjusts for opponent quality, Maye’s big lead takes into account the Patriots’ easy strength of schedule. How did Maye pull it off? Mainly with accuracy and a big helping of explosive plays. Maye led QBR-qualifying quarterbacks in yards per dropback (7.7), adjusted completion percentage (78.8%) and completion percentage over expectation (plus-9%).”
Maye was a draft darling among Vikings fans about two years ago, and in fact, purple faithful had whittled the quarterback draft choice down to a binary pick between Maye and McCarthy in 2024. The Patriots ultimately did not budge from their draft spot via trade; they picked Maye, and Minnesota swiped McCarthy about an hour later.
Walder added, “That last number represents the best CPOE season by any quarterback in the NFL Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). Maye recorded 54 plays that generated at least two expected points added, tied for the second most in the NFL. And his 8.7 air yards per attempt was third highest, and he threw to the sticks or farther on 47% of his attempts (fourth highest).”
No other Vikings players earned placement on Walder’s Top 100 MVP list.
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