Justin Jefferson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Justin Jefferson
refer to caption
Jefferson with LSU in 2019
No. 18 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1999-06-16) June 16, 1999 (age 22)
St. Rose, Louisiana
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Destrehan (Destrehan, Louisiana)
College:LSU
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22
Career history
  • Minnesota Vikings (2020–present)
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL
College
  • CFP National Champion (2019)
  • Second-team All-SEC (2019)
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Receptions:196
Receiving yards:3,016
Receiving average:15.4
Receiving touchdowns:17
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Justin Joshua Jefferson (born June 16, 1999)[1] is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He then set an NFL rookie record for receiving yards with 1,400 (a record that was broken in 2021 by his former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase) and was named to the Pro Bowl. Jefferson has been named to two Pro Bowls in his first two pro seasons.

Early years[]

Jefferson attended Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana.[2] He committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.[3]

College career[]

After appearing in two games and not recording a catch his first year at LSU in 2017, Jefferson was their leading receiver in 2018 with 54 catches for 875 yards and six touchdowns.[4][5][6][7]

As a junior in 2019, Jefferson led the country with 111 receptions.[8] His 18 receiving touchdowns ranked second in the country—behind only teammate Ja'Marr Chase—and his 1,540 receiving yards were third most.[9] He had a historic performance in the Peach Bowl, catching 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns against the Oklahoma Sooners. All four touchdowns came in the first half, and set a College Football Playoff game record and tied the record for any bowl game.[10] In the National Championship against Clemson, he had nine receptions for 106 yards in the 42–25 victory.[11] On January 15, 2020, Jefferson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.[12]

Statistics[]

Season Receiving Rushing
Rec Yards Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD
2017 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 4 4.0 4 0
2018 54 875 16.2 65 6 5 26 5.2 19 0
2019 111 1,540 13.9 71 18 0 0 0.0 0 0
Career[13] 165 2,415 14.6 71 24 6 30 6.0 19 0

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 1+1⁄4 in
(1.86 m) 		202 lb
(92 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.43 s 37.5 in
(0.95 m)		 10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)		 19
All values from NFL Combine[14][15]

Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[16] The Vikings previously obtained the 22nd selection as part of the trade that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.[17] He couldn’t continue to wear his college number, 2, and thus chose to wear 18. Jefferson signed a four-year, $13.12 million contract with the team, with a $7.1 million signing bonus.[18] Jefferson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on July 27, 2020,[19] before being cleared and activated a week later.[20]

2020[]

Jefferson made his debut in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, recording two receptions for 26 yards.[21] He made his first start of the season in a Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans, where he had his first big breakthrough by finishing with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions, but the Vikings lost 30–31.[22] He followed up that performance the next week with four receptions for 103 yards in a 31–23 win over the Houston Texans. In doing so, he became just the fifth rookie wide receiver in Vikings history to have back to back games with at least 100 yards receiving.[23] During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jefferson finished with nine receptions for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns .[24]

In Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jefferson recorded nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown during a 27–24 overtime win, in this game he broke the 1,000 receiving yard mark.[25] In Week 15 against the Chicago Bears, Jefferson broke Randy Moss's Vikings rookie receiving record by catching eight passes, putting him at 74 receptions, surpassing the 69 catches Moss had in 1998.[26] By the season's end, Jefferson had set the NFL record for most receiving yards (1,400) by a rookie in NFL history after surpassing Anquan Boldin's 1,377 yards in 2003 (although his record would be broken by his former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase the following season).[27] He was one of only two rookies named to the 2021 Pro Bowl, alongside defensive end Chase Young of the Washington Football Team.[28] He was also named Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News.[29]

2021[]

Jefferson's season started strong, putting up over 100 receiving yards against Seattle, Detroit, and the Chargers over the first eight games of the season. In Week 11, Jefferson had eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week.[30] In Week 13, Jefferson caught 11 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in a 29-27 loss to the Detroit Lions. Jefferson's 464 yards and three touchdowns through four games in the month of November earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Month, the first of his career.[31] During Week 16, Jefferson passed Odell Beckham Jr. for most receiving yards by a player in his first two NFL seasons.[32] Jefferson finished the season with 1,616 receiving yards, good for second-most in the NFL in 2021, and just 16 yards short of Randy Moss's single-season franchise record.[33][34] Jefferson was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl, joining Randy Moss and Sammy White as the only three Vikings wide receivers to make Pro Bowls in each of their first two professional seasons.[35][36] For the second consecutive year, Jefferson was named a second-team member of the AP All-Pro team, missing a spot on the first-team by a single vote.[37]

NFL career statistics[]

Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2020 MIN 16 14 88 1,400 15.9 71T 7 1 2 2.0 2 0 1 0
2021 MIN 17 17 108 1,616 15.0 56 10 6 14 2.3 11 0 1 1
Career 33 31 196 3,016 15.4 71 17 7 16 2.3 11 0 2 1

Personal life[]

His brothers, Jordan and Rickey, also played college football at LSU. Their father, John, played Division II college basketball.[38] On April 27, 2021, Jefferson was the first NFL player to be added to Fortnite with his dance, Get Griddy.[39]

References[]

  1. ^ "Justin Jefferson Stats, Bio, Age, Net Worth, & Career". lines.com. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  2. ^ Gillen, Garland (September 16, 2016). "Another Jefferson stars for Destrehan football". fox8live.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Lopez, Andrew (August 3, 2017). "Destrehan's Justin Jefferson added to LSU football team". NOLA.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "Justin Jefferson 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "Justin Jefferson 2018 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Justin Jefferson 2019 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Guilbeau, Glenn (August 23, 2019). "LSU's Justin Jefferson will transition from Mr. Outside to Mr. Inside at receiver in 2019". The Advertiser.
  8. ^ "2019 Leaders". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "2019 Leaders". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  10. ^ West, Jenna (December 29, 2019). "Five Things to Know About Justin Jefferson, LSU's Breakout Receiver". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "College Football Championship – Clemson vs LSU Box Score, January 13, 2020". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Conway, Tyler (January 15, 2020). "LSU WR Justin Jefferson Declares for 2020 NFL Draft". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  13. ^ "Justin Jefferson Stats". ESPN. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  14. ^ "Justin Jefferson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "Wonderlic scores released for WR prospects, Jeudy and Lamb struggle". knbr.com. April 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  16. ^ White, R.J. (April 23, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft grades: Vikings get an 'A' for selecting Justin Jefferson at No. 22 overall". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  18. ^ Rapp, Timothy (July 22, 2020). "Report: Justin Jefferson, Vikings Agree to 4-Year, $13.12M Rookie Contract". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves". Vikings.com. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves; Justin Jefferson Activated". Vikings.com. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  21. ^ "Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  22. ^ "Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings – September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  23. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Houston Texans – October 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  24. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – October 18th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  26. ^ DeArdo, Bryan (December 20, 2020). "Vikings' Justin Jefferson breaks Randy Moss' longstanding franchise rookie record". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  27. ^ Cronin, Courtney (January 3, 2021). "WR Jefferson sets Super Bowl-era rookie record". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  28. ^ Sullivan, Tyler (December 21, 2020). "Pro Bowl rosters for NFC and AFC: Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers named starters, two rookies make the cut". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  29. ^ Manning, Bryan (January 22, 2021). "Former LSU star Justin Jefferson is Sporting News rookie of the year". LSU Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  30. ^ Gordon, Grant (November 24, 2021). "Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, Vikings WR Justin Jefferson lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  31. ^ Smith, Eric (December 2, 2021). "Justin Jefferson named Offensive Player of Month". vikings.com. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  32. ^ Cronin, Courtney (December 26, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson breaks record for receiving yards during first two NFL seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  33. ^ Ragatz, Will (January 9, 2022). "Justin Jefferson falls 16 yards short of Randy Moss's Single-Season Vikings Receiving Record". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  34. ^ "Justin Jefferson 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  35. ^ Smith, Eric; Peters, Craig (December 20, 2021). "Justin Jefferson Goes Back-to-Back for Pro Bowl Honors". Vikings.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  36. ^ Ragatz, Will (December 20, 2021). "Vikings' Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Harrison Smith Selected to 2022 Pro Bowl". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  37. ^ "2021 NFL All-Pro Team Voting". The Associated Press. January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  38. ^ Kubena, Brooks (September 20, 2018). "LSU family legacy continues through Justin Jefferson: 'It's like he was destined to do it'". The Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  39. ^ Richard, Isaiah (April 26, 2021). "Justin Jefferson Gets 'Fortnite' Skin: He's the First NFL Player to Get One—When is the Release Date?". Tech Times. Retrieved January 3, 2022.

External links[]


Retrieved from ""