2025 Fantasy Football: Ja'Marr Chase Headlines Top 5 NFL Wide Receivers

2. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

Justin Jefferson reminded us all why he's one of the league’s premier fantasy weapons in 2022, putting up career-highs across the board—128 receptions, 1,809 receiving yards, and 184 targets—leading the NFL in all three categories. Naturally, he finished as the WR1 in PPR formats with 369.00 fantasy points. He went nuclear in seven games (including 11/223 and 10/193/1), though he did mix in a few dud weeks that stung during crunch time. Still, with double-digit targets in 11 games and at least 10 catches in six of them, his volume was as elite as it gets.

Jefferson came out firing again in 2023 with four straight monster performances (highlighted by 11/159 and 7/149/1), but a hamstring injury in Week 5 sidelined him for seven games. Later, a chest issue knocked him out of Week 14 early. Despite the setbacks, he still topped 1,000 receiving yards and dropped signature games like 12/192/1 down the stretch, salvaging value in what amounted to just eight true weeks of action.

In 2024, Jefferson bounced back in full force with 103 catches for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns on 154 targets, extending his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to five. He cleared the century mark in five games and recorded at least seven catches in eight matchups—most of which came in the second half. Notably, Jefferson has reeled in 131 receptions of 20+ yards across 77 games (26.5%), showing how dangerous he is at every level of the field. He’s averaged a crisp 6.4 receptions, 97 yards, and 0.53 touchdowns per game in his career—good for 19.28 FPPG.

Jefferson finished 2024 as the WR2 in PPR, trailing only Ja’Marr Chase by 85.3 fantasy points—largely due to a disparity in pass volume (CIN 652 attempts vs. MIN 548). With Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold now gone, the big question is whether rookie J.J. McCarthy will throw enough to keep Jefferson firmly in that elite WR1 tier. History shows that when the volume is there, Jefferson delivers with surgical precision.

Expect Jefferson to be a top-6 pick in 2025 drafts, locked into a heated debate with CeeDee Lamb and a few high-usage running backs (Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley). If the Vikings unleash McCarthy and the stars align, Jefferson has 120-catch, 1,800-yard, 15-touchdown upside—potentially reclaiming his crown as fantasy football’s top wideout.