Jefferson Lands His First Award of the 2022 Season
Ted Schwerzler
|
This season no player for the Minnesota Vikings was better than wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Racking up yardage by the boatload, he found himself on pace to break the single season receiving yards record. While that ultimately didn’t happen, Jefferson lands his first award to commemorate the year.
Each season, there are All-Pro teams to highlight the production of NFL players. This year though, the NFLPA conducted their inaugural ALl-Pro vote and to no one’s surprise, Justin Jefferson was selected as one of two wide receivers.
It is a bit surprising that Davante Adams was chosen alongside Jefferson rather than Tyreek Hill, but there is no denying the Minnesota man deserved his place. Jefferson had a slow finish to the season but still wound up leading the league in both receptions and yardage. He put up more than 1,800 yards and surpassed multiple team records held by Randy Moss and Cris Carter.
Still just in his third NFL season, Sunday represents Jefferson’s first opportunity to play in a playoff game, and coming off a pair of lackluster performances, another big game could be in store. Jefferson balled out to the tune of 133 yards and a touchdown last time Minnesota saw the Giants, and he’ll be looking to do significant damage again this time around.
The Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw has looked to be of All-Pro caliber when on the field this season, but missing games due to injury was always going to take him out of the running. Trent Williams was selected as the left tackle and has long been the gold standard at the position across the league.
Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was named to the team as a kick returner. Since leaving Minnesota he has become one of the greatest kick returners in NFL history, and he has turned his skillset into a unique pairing that bridges a gap between running back and wideout.
You can bet this won’t be the last award Jefferson wins this season. Although he is focused on four more victories and wearing a ring when the dust settles, Jefferson should find himself in consideration for Offensive Player of the Year as well. His numbers stopped short of truly being magical, but it’s more than clear the young wideout has a ceiling that we continue to see rise.
Making the All-Pro team voted on by a group of your peers has to feel good, and while fans certainly enjoy the production that Jefferson puts up, it seems the opposition knows how good he is as well.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.