Inside The Vikings

Justin Jefferson Ties Record For Fewest Games Needed to Reach 5,000 Yards

Jefferson ties Lance Alworth as the only players to ever get 5K yards in 52 games.
Will Ragatz|
Justin Jefferson Ties Record For Fewest Games Needed to Reach 5,000 Yards
Justin Jefferson Ties Record For Fewest Games Needed to Reach 5,000 Yards

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Minnesota Vikings

Another game, another record for Justin Jefferson.

With his fourth catch of the first half against the Eagles on Thursday night, Jefferson eclipsed 5,000 receiving yards in his career. By doing it in his 52nd career game, he tied Hall of Famer Lance Alworth's record for the fewest games needed to reach 5K in NFL/AFL history.

Alworth set the record in 1966 with the San Diego Chargers, back when they played in the AFL. 57 years later, Jefferson is the second pass-catcher — and the first in NFL history — to cross the 5,000-yard mark in just 52 games.

This is nothing new for Jefferson, who has shattered all kinds of records during his first three-plus years in the league. He has more receiving yards than any player has ever had during their first three seasons in the league and is a little over 500 yards away from breaking Michael Thomas' record for receiving yards in a player's first four seasons.

It's Week 2 of Jefferson's fourth season.

The 22nd overall pick in the 2020 draft out of LSU, Jefferson racked up 1,400 yards as a rookie and his upped his production in each of the two seasons since. Last year, he won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award with 1,806 yards, the sixth-highest single season total in league history.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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