With Second Straight 100-Yard Game, Justin Jefferson Proves He's Here to Stay
Justin Jefferson arrived in Week 3, galloping and Griddying his way to 175 yards and a touchdown in a breakout game against the Titans. One week later, he did something arguably more important: proved that he's here to stay.
Eager to show that his spectacular performance at U.S. Bank Stadium was no fluke, Jefferson looked the part of a star wide receiver once again in the Vikings' 31-23 win over the Texans on Sunday. He was targeted just five times, but made them count, catching four passes for 103 yards. Jefferson's second straight 100-yard performance served as a confirmation of sorts; yes, this 21-year-old from Louisiana is the real deal.
The numbers stand out, but it's the way he got them that tells the story. Just like the previous week, Jefferson primarily lined up on the outside in Houston. One of the concerns some analysts had in the pre-draft process was that he was just a slot receiver and would struggle to separate on the boundary. Over the past two games, that has been all but put to rest.
Jefferson's first catch was a 29-yard gain on a deep crossing route. On his second, he beat man coverage on a corner route for 26 yards. No. 3 on the day was a clutch contested catch on third down for 23 yards. And his final reception of the day was maybe the most encouraging, as it came on a back-shoulder throw from Kirk Cousins to move the chains and pick up 25.
“When we came off to the sideline after the drive, Sean Mannion said, ‘You been working on back-shoulders to Justin?’" Cousins said. "In other words, we don’t have that time or years banked. At some point, you just gotta play and believe he can do it. And after he adjusted, found the ball, made the catch, kept his feet in bounds and made the play, I looked at whoever I was with – Dalvin or Adam – as we were moving up the field and said, ‘18 can play.' That’s not easy to do. Yeah, are we going to build trust over time? Yes, we’re going to build trust. But some of the things we’re doing, there is no trust. It’s just raw ability and you’re putting the ball out there hoping, believing that he’s going to be able to make it happen.”
All four of Jefferson's catches led to a Vikings touchdown. He's quickly become a critical piece of this offense, and his emergence has taken some of the load off of Adam Thielen, who racked up eight catches, 114 yards, and a touchdown on Sunday. Getting the ball to their two star receivers and the NFL's leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, has worked out pretty well for Cousins, Gary Kubiak, and the Vikings over the past two games.
Jefferson's slow start to the year – he had five catches for 70 yards in Weeks 1 and 2 while splitting playing time with Bisi Johnson – feels like ages ago at this point. The Vikings unleashed him in Week 3 and he hasn't looked back. Jefferson has shown off all of the tools that helped him dominate at LSU and become a first-round pick: speed, route-running, contested catch ability, YAC skills. He's been so good that he's making fans forget about Stefon Diggs, who is tied for the league lead in receiving yards after a torrid start to his Bills career.
"Jefferson has shown why we took him at that pick," Cook said. "I think he had like four catches for 100-and-some yards. That’s a guy that can create some plays and some different matchups. He’s taking a lot of pressure off Adam."
All of a sudden, Jefferson is on pace for nearly 1,400 receiving yards. Here are a couple notable stats from the first month of his career:
- PFF has given Jefferson grades of 91 or better in two straight games. He's currently their highest-graded receiver in the NFL (and Thielen is No. 2).
- Jefferson's 348 yards are the second-most in a receiver's first four games over the past decade, trailing only Diggs.
- He's eighth in the NFL in receiving yards despite not starting until Week 3.
- Jefferson is tied with Diggs for the NFL lead with eight catches of 20-plus yards.
- Among players with at least ten catches, his 21.75 yards per reception trails only Seattle's DK Metcalf.
Jefferson is really good – right now. He has all the tools needed to have consistent success in this league, and gives the Vikings a legitimate No. 2 option and big-play threat in the passing game. He's not going to have 100 receiving yards every week, but he's proving that it doesn't take much for him to reach that mark on any given Sunday. Jefferson's rapport with Cousins is growing rapidly, with the Vikings' quarterback looking more and more willing to trust him to make a play in big situations.
With that said, the most important thing Jefferson has done is give the Vikings hope for the future. At 1-3, this team almost certainly isn't going to the playoffs. But if they've found a future star at receiver, that makes a disappointing start to the year much easier to swallow. Jefferson's personality, energy, and talent are going to be fun to watch not only for the rest of his rookie season, but for many years to come.
"It's only my fourth game of my career," Jefferson said. "We didn't have any preseason or anything before this, so I guess you could say this is my preseason and I'm just getting started."
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