Justin Jefferson on Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy Competition, New Orleans Homecoming

For the first time in six years, Justin Jefferson will play in his native Louisiana when the Vikings travel to take on the Saints in Week 5. While the Superdome certainly holds plenty of good memories for Jefferson — it is where he won a national title with LSU in January 2020 — his most recent playing memory there isn't good.

Late in a dismal 2020 season, the 6-8 Vikings were taking on the 10-4 Saints in the Superdome in the second-to-last week of the regular season. New Orleans was competing for a top spot in the NFC, and Minnesota was already eliminated from playoff contention. It showed on the field. Saints star running back Alvin Kamara ran for a whopping six touchdowns in a 52-33 drubbing of the Vikings in front of a national audience on Christmas Day. Jefferson caught just six passes for 85 yards and no touchdowns in the game.

Since then, the Vikings and Saints have squared off just twice, once in London in 2022 and the other at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2023. The Vikings won both games. While Jefferson caught 10 passes for 147 yards in the 2022 game, he was unavailable for the 2023 game due to injury.

When asked about finally getting the chance to return home for the first time in six years, Jefferson couldn't hold back how much the game means to him.

"I'm excited for sure," Jefferson told Good Morning Football. "The last time I've been to New Orleans I think it was year two, or COVID year, one of the two, I think one of those two. So it's been a couple years and I'm definitely looking forward to being in front of my family and friends. ... Just all of the great memories that I've had growing up in just over the years of playing football. And I'm always trying to beat the home state."

Jettas is making a return to New Orleans this season ✈️@Vikings | #Skol pic.twitter.com/EPgmZ2GSqu
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) May 15, 2026

Outside of the game in New Orleans, Jefferson said he didn't have a specific game on the Vikings' 2026 schedule circled yet.

"I gotta dig deep into the schedule," said Jefferson. "See the different matchups, see the prime time games that we have, and base it off of that. But, you know, y'all already know every game is that game for me. I'm always trying to make sure that my team wins. So, every every game that [is] circled on that schedule, is very important and something that I'm definitely looking forward to."

The Vikings announced their schedule on Thursday. The team's 2026 campaign will feature just four nationally televised games, down from seven in 2025. However, Minnesota will have five of its last eight games at home, which could play a key role in the Vikings returning to the playoffs.

Jefferson wants competition at QB

A big part of the Vikings making the playoffs for just the third time in Jefferson's historic career will be the play of the team's quarterback. In 2025, J.J. McCarthy struggled with consistency and injuries, forcing Minnesota to go out and acquire veteran QB Kyler Murray on a one-year deal this offseason.

The signing has set up what the team is insistent on calling a "true competition" for the starting role this season. After a frustrating 2025 in which he only scraped over the 1,000 yard mark on the final day of the season, Jefferson said he's looking for "real" competition between McCarthy and Murray this summer.

"Just to see who's going to be that last man standing, who's going to be that dog, who's going to be that leader to to carry us throughout this season," Jefferson said of the Vikings' QB room. "Because that is definitely a missing piece that we're looking for and something that [is] very important to our team, which is the quarterback spot. So, I mean, just seeing that competition battle, seeing those guys come every single day, leading the team and trying to spark the offense. It's definitely something I'm looking forward to. And just going out there and just connecting with any quarterback that's going out there and throwing the ball. That's the most important thing this training camp."

Whoever steps up this summer, it's hoped they can go on to become the long-term answer at the position the team has been seeking to fill since letting Kirk Cousins walk following the 2023 season. Despite catching passes from Cousins during the first three and half years of his career, Jefferson has been on the receiving end of a shaky QB situation, catching passes from nine different QBs throughout his career.

"You know, it's definitely difficult for those type of things to happen, continued Jefferson. "But, you know, me being with Kirk for those first four years of my career, just building on that connection, building on that relationship, that's something that is unbroken.

"That's something that you don't find just anywhere. So, it definitely would be great to have a quarterback, the same quarterback, for these next couple years, going down the line. But, that's something that's very difficult to do in this league. But, for sure, to keep on that quarterback for these next couple years and build that relationship, and create that spark, that's that's definitely the plan."

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