Kevin O'Connell Plans to Move Justin Jefferson Around the Offense Like Cooper Kupp
Kevin O'Connell just played a major role in the most prolific season by a wide receiver in the history of the NFL. Now he might have a good chance to do that again in 2022.
Cooper Kupp had an absurd breakout season in 2021 with Matthew Stafford as his quarterback, winning the receiving triple crown with 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns — then adding a ridiculous 33/478/6 line in four playoff games for the Super Bowl-winning Rams. He was the ultimate weapon for Los Angeles, lining up all over the field, consistently getting open and making things happen after the catch, and dominating as a run blocker.
O'Connell is now the Vikings' head coach, meaning he goes from coaching one elite wide receiver to coaching another. Justin Jefferson, who turns 23 in June, has spent his first two NFL seasons tearing up the league and establishing himself as the face of Minnesota's franchise. He's the only player ever to record 3,000 receiving yards across their first two seasons (although Ja'Marr Chase may well join him next year). Jefferson has all of the skills, work ethic, and confidence to be a dominant No. 1 wideout for a long time.
When Jefferson heard that O'Connell was being hired to replace Mike Zimmer, he was excited.
"I've been watching the Rams offense for a minute now, they get their playmakers the ball," he said. "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."
And rightfully so. Not that Jefferson hasn't enjoyed plenty of individual success during his first two seasons, but the Vikings' offense as a unit fell to 16th in offensive DVOA last year after ranking 8th in his rookie season. More importantly, Jefferson has seen the Vikings go 15-18 and miss the playoffs in both of his NFL seasons after going undefeated in his final year at LSU.
And then there's the ways O'Connell might use Jefferson. Coming off of the success he had with Kupp, O'Connell told ProFootballTalk this week that he sees Jefferson being able to do similar things.
“Absolutely,” O’Connell said. “The one thing about Cooper Kupp this past season is he lined up in a lot of different spots. It was hard for defenses to really know where he was. He did a lot of different things. He had an impact in a lot of phases of our offense beyond just catching a lot of balls and scoring a lot of touchdowns. There was a huge role for Cooper because of his willingness to be completely solidified in every phase, both the run and the pass.
“I see that with Justin. I see an incredible, incredible skillset, but I also see a player we can move around. We can make it hard for defenses to know where he’s going to be. He doesn’t have to line up in the same spot all the time. He doesn’t have to run the same type of routes all the time. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands. He’s willing in the run game. This guy’s a special, special player."
It'll be interesting to see what exactly that looks like. Kupp ran 65.5 percent of his routes from the slot last season, while Jefferson has run 30 and 31 percent of his routes from the slot in the NFL after starring there in 2019 at LSU. Jefferson's career 12.8-yard average depth of target is notably higher than Kupp's 8.6 mark from last season.
Does that mean Jefferson will be used in the slot more and see more short targets with YAC potential? Maybe. He's still an incredibly gifted route-runner and deep threat on the outside, and the Vikings won't want to take away from that too much. It might be as simple as moving Jefferson around the formation more and increasing the versatility of the routes he runs and the ways the Vikings get the ball in his hands.
Regardless of what form it takes, O'Connell coaching Jefferson in 2022 and beyond has to be exciting for Vikings fans everywhere. Jefferson fell just short of Randy Moss's single-season franchise receiving record last season, but this might be the year he gets it.
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