Justin Jefferson is Excited About the Vikings Hiring Kevin O'Connell as Head Coach
Justin Jefferson has only been in the NFL for two seasons, but the 22-year-old superstar is already the face of the Vikings' franchise. So it's a good sign that he's fired up about Kevin O'Connell, the Rams' offensive coordinator who is lined up to officially become Minnesota's next head coach after the Super Bowl.
"I've been watching the Rams offense for a minute now, they get their playmakers the ball," Jefferson said in an interview with NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. "They have some tremendous plays, Cooper Kupp wide open all the time. So I'm excited for it. This is my first head coach that’s gonna be on the offensive side instead of the defensive side, so I’m happy.”
With O'Connell and Sean McVay leading the way, the Rams' offense finished in the top ten in yards, points, DVOA, and EPA per play in the regular season. Kupp won the triple crown by leading the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16). He came just 17 yards from tying Calvin Johnson's all-time single-season record, albeit with an additional game. The Rams entered the playoffs as the NFC's No. 4 seed, but beat the Cardinals, Buccaneers, and 49ers to reach the Super Bowl.
It's safe to say Jefferson is excited to see what O'Connell can do in Minnesota. He won't be used in the exact same way as Kupp, but O'Connell will undoubtedly make it a priority to get his best player the ball as much as possible. Jefferson is already a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro who just broke the all-time record for receiving yards in a player's first two seasons (3,016), and he still thinks he has room for improvement.
"Just getting better, working on my craft," he told Wolfe. "I can get better at anything, I can get better at everything, really. There's always things for me to improve on, things for me to work on, so I'm just gonna keep going. Always find that new goal to reach and keep going. I still didn't beat [Randy Moss's single-season Vikings record] yet, so next year the goal is to beat the record."
Jefferson ended up 16 yards shy of that record in an incredible 2021 season. Only Kupp had more receiving yards than him in the regular season.
He's had a busy week at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. Jefferson participated in a Madden challenge, took part in the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown — making the game-winning catch in dodgeball — and will be out there on Sunday afternoon for the game itself.
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