Is Justin Jefferson a ‘Top 25 Under 25?’ PFF Thinks So.
Dustin Baker
|
When the Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in 2020, blanket panic covered the fanbase, leaving onlookers confused about the plan after Adam Thielen on the 2020 WR depth chart.
It took a little over one month to nominate Diggs’ replacement — and that was Justin Jefferson from Louisiana State University. Fresh off the steam of a national championship at LSU with Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, Jefferson was destined for a 1st-Round draft selection. But he was curiously ignored on draft night by WR-needy teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
Jefferson tumbled all the way to the Vikings at #22, and voila, the Jefferson era in Minnesota was born.
It took about two weeks for Minnesota to recognize that Jefferson was fully ready for regular-season stardom. The Vikings showcased miserable Week 1 and 2 efforts in 2020 versus the Green Bay Packers and at the Indianapolis Colts. As soon as the franchise realized that Jefferson was legally allowed to catch passes, his ascension commenced and the Vikings season turned around — to an extent.
All Jefferson wound up pulling off was the NFL rookie record for receiving yards. He registered 1,400, shattering the totals by his predecessors — Anquan Boldin, Randy Moss, and Odell Beckham (in that order).
And that’s probably why Pro Football Focus is high on Jefferson’s upcoming maturation. PFF ranked Jefferson as the ninth-best football player under the age of 25 heading into 2021. Sam Monson of PFF said about Jefferson:
“Any time you’re breaking rookie records held by Randy Moss, you are doing something pretty well. Jefferson wasn’t just the best-graded rookie receiver in the NFL last season; his 90.5 PFF receiving grade was better than any other wideout other than Davante Adams. Jefferson generated 2.66 yards per route run, again second only to Adams.“
A.J. Brown, who placed at #4, is the only WR/RB to outrank Jefferson on the rankings. In Tennessee, Brown will now share the pass-catching spotlight with Julio Jones, a player traded to the Titans after a ten-year stint with the Atlanta Falcons. It will be akin to Jefferson’s spotlight-sharing with Adam Thielen.
Jefferson wasn’t merely good by rookie standards — he was marvelous by player-in-his-prime measures. Only Davante Adams scored a higher PFF grade last season, and Jefferson trailed Adams by 1.6 in terms of scoring. Indeed, Jefferson was the NFL’s second-best wide receiver during the pandemic season per PFF.
On the aforementioned Diggs trade that ultimately netted Jefferson for the Vikings, the hubbub on the trade aftermath frequently dabbles in “who won the trade?” Diggs is a six-year veteran of the business whereas Jefferson was a rookie pup in 2020. Any “trade winner” comparison should highlight Diggs’ rookie campaign compared to Jefferson’s first year — not Diggs’ sixth year to Jefferson’s nonexistent sixth year.
In that regard, Jefferson owns a loftier trajectory than Diggs. As standalone, in-the-now commodities, Diggs and Jefferson are probably talent bedfellows. But Jefferson is just getting started.
Jefferson’s next steps? Avoid a sophomore slump. Those are real.
The players under the age of 25 “better” than Jefferson?
- Fred Warner
- Josh Allen
- Lamar Jackson
- A.J. Brown
- Nick Bosa
- Jaire Alexander
- Minkah Fitzpatrick
- Chase Young