Justin Jefferson on getting back to 'savage mode,' advice for J.J. McCarthy

Jefferson's Thursday press conference was a fascinating look into the superstar's mind.

Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) warms up before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Seeing the play again sparked a realization for Justin Jefferson, which has likely been building for a bit. On Thursday morning, he came across video of the signature moment of his career, the fourth-and-18 one-handed miracle catch in Buffalo. On the three-year anniversary of that play, a feeling set in for Jefferson: He wants to get back to being who he was in 2022.

"I need to get back to year3 Jets," he wrote on his Instagram story.

Later that day, Jefferson met with the local media at TCO Performance Center, as he does every Thursday. What followed was a fascinatingly open and honest discussion of the circumstances that led to that social media caption. What did he mean by wanting to get back to Year 3 Jets?

"Yeah, just the big plays," he said. "That year, I had the Offensive Player of the Year. Just different moments in that season, I felt like I was just on a different level. Tryna work back into that. The feeling of being out there on Sundays, going out there and just killing it, whoever's in front of me. Just having that mentality back and being back to my old self."

That 2022 season certainly stands out as the peak of Jefferson's career so far. In his first year under Kevin O'Connell, he caught 128 passes for 1,809 yards and scored nine total touchdowns to earn the league's OPOY award. He also finished fifth in MVP voting. Now, to be clear, that's far from the only incredible season Jefferson has had. He's recorded at least 1,400 yards in each of his three other full, healthy healthy seasons. In 2023, he reached 1,000 yards in eight full games.

Even last year, Jefferson finished second in the league with 1,533 yards. He's had a quieter first half of this season by his standards, and he's coming off a rare bad game, but it's not like he's very far removed from playing at a dominant level.

"I guess you could look at it and see every year's a spectacular year for me, but I feel like that year was just a different year," Jefferson said of 2022.

Elite wide receivers, as a collective, are known to sometimes express frustration with the circumstances around them when things aren't going to plan. That's never been Jefferson. He isn't blaming anyone else for his current production, he's focused on his personal mindset and performance.

"I only can control the things that I can control," he said. "And personally, mentally, just wanting to get back into that mode, into I like to say savage mode. It's just going out there with that F-it mentality and killing it and not worrying about the plays, not worrying about anything else that I can't control. Just doing everything that I can control and making the most of my opportunities."

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What's led to Jefferson getting away from that 'savage mode' mindset?

"Life," he said. "Just different things going on in my life. Just wanting to get back to that kid phase of — I still love football, but overly loving football and overly loving being out there on Sundays and making the big plays and being a part of this great organization. Wanting to get back, mentally, into that mode."

There's no sense in speculating about what might be going on in Jefferson's life behind the scenes, but on a surface level, the continued growth of his superstardom — that 2022 season elevated him into being one of the faces of the league — is something he has to navigate. He's 26 now, not 23. Life changes.

On the field, Jefferson just wants to make plays and help his team win. He's now in year six and hasn't yet been part of a playoff victory. The current Vikings have their postseason hopes on the line this week against the Bears. Jefferson goes out each week and tries to produce for his team while being covered unlike any other wide receiver in football. That element of things has taken away a little bit of his joy for football, he admitted.

"I wouldn't say I lost it, but of course it's a little bit difficult when teams play me the way they have been playing me," Jefferson said. "I don't have those one-on-one coverages as much as I used to. And that's probably why I miss year 3 Jets. I guess you could say that kind of takes a way a little bit of the joy, but I still love going out there and playing football. I still love waking up every single day and coming here and doing this job."

Going forward, it'll be interesting to see if Jefferson can re-discover the joy and the mentality and the performance of his 2022 self. That's clearly his goal.

Jefferson's advice for McCarthy

During his time in the NFL, Jefferson has established a reputation of being quarterback-proof. He's averaged over 90 yards per game with Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Sam Darnold, and Carson Wentz. But he hasn't yet found that same connection or success with young J.J. McCarthy, who has a long way to go in terms of accuracy and consistency after his first four career starts.

In four games with McCarthy, Jefferson has averaged just 52.2 yards per game, with 17 catches on 34 targets. There have been plenty of inaccurate throws by McCarthy. Last week, there were also multiple plays that Jefferson typically makes that he was unable to convert.

Jefferson, as he's done all year, has continued to try to instill confidence in the Vikings' 22-year-old quarterback. His conversations with McCarthy haven't changed.

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"The same conversations we've been having before," he said. "Continue to be yourself, continue to have that confidence and don't overthink things. Even though things are not going the greatest for us and we're still figuring out some things, don't let that hinder your play or get in the way of you making the right reads or making the proper plays. Because he's a great player, he's a great quarterback, he's a great kid."

Being Jefferson's quarterback is a unique experience because of the defensive attention he receives. It'll take time for McCarthy to figure out how best to attack those coverages and have success, Jefferson said.

"J.J. hasn't played with anyone with as much attention as I'm getting," he said. "It takes some time to figure those things out. Kirk had to take time figuring that out as well, Sam had to take time figuring that out as well. This job is hard, especially at quarterback.

"The connection will continue to grow and continue to get better, but I feel like as long as J.J.'s confidence is still there and he still has that motivation to go out there and lead us and do the things that we expect him to do, everything will fall in its place."

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