Jefferson Needs 207 Yards for History

Justin Jefferson
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson warms up before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

The Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 for a game with relatively hollow stakes. Detroit will hire a new coach within the month, and the Vikings skipper figures to be safe for at least another season. Postseason aspirations for both teams were decimated prematurely. Win, lose, or draw – Minnesota will finish in third place inside the NFC North with Detroit in the backseat.

The only meaningful fallout this Sunday will be draft order. The loser will slide “ahead” in positioning for the 2021 NFL Draft. Should the Vikings find a victory, they will get closer to the middle of the pack with a 7-9 record. Think 15th or 16th in the pecking order.

An easy way to perceive the Lions game on Sunday: If there was ever a game to be emotionally unaffected by a Vikings loss – this is it. 

The purple gravy on this matchup is the individual performance of Justin Jefferson. A first-year wideout, the LSU alumnus has catapulted to the top of the league of wide receiver talent. Rookie wide receivers rarely top 1,000 yards, but Jefferson has already done that with 1267. He could have stopped playing at the end of November, and his maiden voyage would have been classified as a resounding success. 

But there is one more game left, nevertheless. Jefferson can utilize a “garbage time” football game to pad his potential Offensive Rookie of the Year numbers. For Viking faithful, tracking Jefferson’s totals will be the keynote reason to tune in. If not for that, one can observe several replacement players and rookies that will inevitably see the field in Week 17.

Bill Groman’s All-Time Rookie Record

With a mammoth performance in the Motor City, Jefferson can seize the rookie record for receiving yards. The accolade belongs to Bill Groman, a player that claimed the honor some 60 years ago. Groman was a Houston Oiler and inexplicably set the record in 14 games. Groman chipped in 12 touchdowns during the campaign, trudging a path to an AFL Championship for Houston. It was the first of two championships that the Oilers captured in successive seasons (1960, 1961). This era also marked the final time that the Oilers [or modern-day Texans] would win any sort of championship. 

Jefferson needs 207 receiving yards. Period. That is all. His talents suggest he is more than capable of such a day. The nature of the offensive gameplan is a question mark. Dalvin Cook will not play after his father passed away this week. The working theory is that Kirk Cousins will play.

If one hopes to see Jefferson get a crack at history, the Vikings must sling the ball – or throw only to Jefferson throughout the game.

47 Yards from Moss, too

En route to this feasible feat, Jefferson will leap-frog former Vikings wideout, Randy Moss. The Hall of Famer famously thrashed the NFL for 1,313 yards in 1998. In 2020, Jefferson is 46 yards from this mark. 

Moss was splashier than Jefferson in 1998 because he grabbed 17 touchdowns – most of them playground-like scud missiles from Randall Cunningham. While Jefferson’s antics are indeed flamboyant, he does not have the unabashed and irreplicable flair of Moss. It’s probably a testament to the eras. Today, the NFL is pass-heavy. 22 years ago, establishing the run was still preferred, so Moss’ long-balls were arguably more mesmerizing. 

With 47 yards, though, Moss’ Viking-record falls by the wayside to Justin Jefferson. Moss’ touchdown record is verifiably safe – and probably will remain untouched for years.

Would Also Seize “by 21-Year-Old Record”

Most wide receivers that enter the league are 22 years old or older. Jefferson is 21. He used a head start to plunge into NFL secondaries. Notably, the aforementioned Moss joined the league at age 21. Therefore, if Jefferson tallies 47 yards on Sunday, he will also shatter the rookie receiving-yard record for a 21-year-old. No matter how Sunday’s game materializes, Jefferson is second all-time for this “age-21” metric. In his wake are players like Amari Cooper (1070 yards), Mike Evans (1051 yards), Keenan Allen (1046 yards), and Sammy Watkins (982 yards). This company is an encouraging bunch if history is an indicator. 

Those are the individual accomplishments to monitor in Week 17. The team stuff is up next for the Vikings on Monday morning. What position will the Vikings target in Round 1 of the 2021 draft? Will Kyle Rudolph and Anthony Harris be exiled? Does Danielle Hunter really want a contract extension? Can the team actually invest in an offensive guard during free agency?

It’s that time of year.  

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