The Vikings Had a “Plan B” in the 2020 Draft if Justin Jefferson Wasn’t Available
Josh Frey
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Typically, the NFL Draft is extremely unpredictable, and things rarely go exactly according to plan for a team. This is why it is extremely important for teams to have a “Plan B”, or even a “Plan Z”, and go through their due diligence on as many prospects as they can, just in case the players they want are not available.
One recent draft pick that went about as well as the Vikings could have hoped for was the selection of Justin Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick in 2020 NFL Draft. After trading away Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills earlier that offseason, the Vikings went into the draft hoping to find a new star receiver, and they certainly did so with the LSU product.
That being said, Rick Spielman, the Vikings GM during that draft, had a “Plan B” of his own just in case Jefferson wasn’t available with that 22nd pick. That backup plan was Brandon Aiyuk, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers just three selections later at No. 25 overall. Spielman recently talked about Aiyuk and what he thought of the 49ers wide receiver going into that draft on the “Pick Six Podcast” for CBS.
The other guy we really liked was Aiyuk coming out of Arizona State. He played one year at Arizona State, you could see the athletic traits. He reminded me a little bit of Stefon Diggs’ body movement and route running ability. He had a lot of technical things to work with but athletically I thought he had some similar traits to that. Even I went a little bit back in the day when I was in Miami and [he had some] Chris Chambers in him. I liked his ability to adjust to the ball, so we liked Aiyuk. [He] was up in that mix with those receivers as well for us.
Going into the draft, Aiyuk was coming off a very successful season at Arizona State, in which he had recorded 65 receptions, 1192 yards, and 8 TDs over the course of 12 games, helping lead the Sun Devils to a Sun Bowl appearance. Aiyuk did not play in that bowl game, but Arizona State defeated Florida State, 20-14.
Since those collegiate days, Aiyuk has not been at the same level as Jefferson, but he has still had a successful NFL career to this point. Over the course of three seasons in the league, he has played in 46 games (starting 44 of them) and has caught 194 passes for 2589 yards, and 18 touchdowns. He surpassed 1000 yards for the first time in 2022, catching 78 passes for 1015 yards and 8 TDs.
Aiyuk has proven to be an effective special teams presence for the 49ers over the past few years too, returning 29 punts for 208 yards last season, an average of 7.2 yards per return. He ranked 10th in punt return yardage last season.
Overall, the Vikings certainly got the better end of the deal by being able to snag Jefferson. The 24-year-old wide receiver has already proven to be one of the best players in the entire NFL, and hopefully, a new contract extension will come soon, allowing him to remain in Minnesota for years to come.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.