Justin Jefferson already established himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers after just two seasons in the league. The Minnesota Vikings star said it won’t be long before he’s considered the very best at his position.
Jefferson praised Davante Adams as the NFL’s best receiver during a recent interview with Complex but added that he’s “pretty sure after this year, it’s going to be me.”
“I’ll say after this year I’ll be the best receiver in the NFL,” Jefferson told Complex, which published the interview Thursday. “I definitely have to give it to Davante Adams as of now, him being so crazy and dynamic on the field. His route running is crazy, so I definitely have to give it to him right now, but I’m pretty sure after this year, it’s going to be me.”
Jefferson, 23, has enjoyed a record-breaking start to his NFL career. He finished with a rookie-record 1,400 receiving yards in 2020 — a mark surpassed last season by former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase (1,455) — and his 3,016 career receiving yards are the most in league history for any player in his first two seasons.
Despite the accolades, Jefferson told Complex he is “always working on my game” and said he is “excited” to play in first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
“It’s not normal for people to get that many yards consistently, back-to-back like that,” Jefferson said. “Really just working on my weaknesses that I felt that I had throughout the season, always working on my game. I’m always working on route running, always can work on catching the ball, so just trying to better my craft at all of those different categories.
“And with this new offense with Coach O’Connell, all of us are excited about this new playbook and hopefully we have a better season this year.”
Jefferson had 108 receptions last season for 1,616 yards — the second most in the NFL behind only Rams star Cooper Kupp (1,947) and ahead of Adams (1,553), who was traded by the Packers to the Raiders earlier this offseason.
Jefferson said one more season of similar production will cement his status as the league’s best.
“I think I have to do it three years in a row for everybody to believe so,” he said. “Some people don’t think that after two years, you deserve to be at the top of the league. And then me, I feel like I’m going to surpass 1,600 yards, too. So I think that I’ll become the best receiver after this year.”