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Justin Jefferson debuts at 53 on NFL top 100 list

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•08/21/21
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Justin Jefferson jumped out to a historic start in his NFL career. Because of that, the second-year player has jumped into the NFL’s top 100 players in their 2021 list. The 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year debuts at number 53.

Jefferson’s college career

At LSU, Jefferson was a part of a talented receiving core, along with Ja’Marr Chase and Terrance Marshall Jr. In their 2019 championship run Jefferson led the group in receptions with 111. He also had 1,540 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns — second on the team to Chase’s 20. On the way to capturing the title, Jefferson would have a historic performance in the college football playoffs. Against the Oklahoma Sooners, Jefferson caught 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns. All four touchdowns came in the first half of the game. He finished off his college career with 165 receptions, 2,415 yards, and 24 touchdowns.

Rookie year in the pros

Jefferson would be taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 22nd-overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings. He was drafted to help fill a void left by the departure of Stefon Diggs. In week three, in his first start against the Tennessee Titans, Jefferson would finish the game with 175 yards receiving and a touchdown on seven catches. From that point on, he would tally another six 100-yard reception games and finish the year with seven touchdowns. What really put his season over the top was his 1,400 yards receiving which broke the NFL record of most receiving yards in a rookie season.

Jefferson opened up on his mindset preparing for his rookie season during an interview with Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter on the Huddle and Flow podcast.

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“… wanted to be the best receiver I can be,” Jefferson said. “I didn’t want to really compare myself to the other rookie receivers. I wanted to be the best receiver in the league.”

Jefferson also said he felt “disrespected” with his draft position. He was drafted behind Henry Ruggs III end Jerry Judy of Alabama, CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma, and Jalen Reagor of TCU. He was the only rookie receiver to break 1,000 yards receiving last year. And he also led all rookie receivers in receptions with 88.

After a rookie year performance like that, it would be hard to validate Jefferson not being on the top-100 list. And with the Vikings bringing back the same offense from last year, look for Jefferson to try and build off of that success. If he can do that, Jefferson might find himself at the top of the best wide receivers in the league list and much higher on the NFL’s top 100 list for next season.

(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)