Justin Jefferson Leads All Players in Pro Bowl Fan Voting. Does He Have an MVP Case?
As of Monday, no player in the NFL has more fan votes for the Pro Bowl than Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. He's at 90,313, roughly 3,000 ahead of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and over 6,000 ahead of the next closest receiver, Miami's Tyreek Hill.
That says two things. One, it's a recognition of the unbelievable third season Jefferson is having. He has 1,232 receiving yards in 11 games, exactly one yard behind Hill for the league lead. He's had at least 98 yards in eight games, including explosions of 139, 147, 154, 184, and 193 yards. Jefferson leads the league with 16 contested catches; no one else has more than 12. He's been absurdly productive despite defenses doing all that they can to take him away. He's a massive reason why the Vikings are 9-2.
Two, it's a reflection of Jefferson's popularity and stardom. The 23-year-old burst onto the scene in 2020 with spectacular catches, a big personality, and the now-famous Griddy dance after touchdowns. All he's done since then is continue elevating as a player and as a brand. After making the catch of the year against the Bills a couple weeks ago, his Instagram picture commemorating the moment received over 500,000 likes. Jefferson is well on his way to being one of the faces of the NFL, if he isn't already there.
Here's a question: does Jefferson have a case to be in the MVP discussion? His teammate and fellow LSU product Patrick Peterson thinks so.
"I think he's having that type of year to where he should be considered," Peterson said after the Vikings beat the Patriots.
Realistically, Jefferson isn't going to win MVP this year. A receiver has never won the award. Cooper Kupp won the triple crown last season with 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns, and he received exactly one MVP vote. That made him the first receiver to get a vote since Randy Moss in 1998.
Whether you agree with it or not, the NFL MVP is a quarterback award. It's gone to a QB in 14 of the last 15 years, with Vikings RB Adrian Peterson in 2012 the only outlier. It's almost certainly going to a QB again this year, with Mahomes the clear favorite.
But at the very least, Jefferson deserves to be in the conversation. He's been that good. Without Jefferson, the Vikings are probably a five or six-win team right now and maybe worse. Then again, you can argue they'd be a worse team with Nick Mullens in for Kirk Cousins than they'd be with Cousins and no Jefferson. That's the value of the quarterback position. It's an interesting debate.
If Jefferson keeps producing at this level over the final six games, he might earn an MVP vote or two — and he'll be one of the favorites for Offensive Player of the Year, which Kupp won last season.
More on Pro Bowl voting
In addition to Jefferson, the Vikings have four other players leading their position in fan votes right now, within the NFC. They are TE T.J. Hockenson, return specialist Kene Nwangwu, special teamer Kris Boyd, and long snapper Andrew DePaola. The Vikings, collectively, have received more fan votes than any other team in the league.
Twitter voting begins on December 1st. That means fans can tweet a player's name or Twitter handle with the hashtag #ProBowlVote and it'll count as a vote.
Fan voting ends on December 15th. Players and coaches will vote on December 16th. There's no actual Pro Bowl game this year, as it's been replaced by a skills competition and flag football game, which will take place on February 5th, 2023. The honor of being named to the Pro Bowl is still just as important, though.
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