Minnesota Vikings: Justin Jefferson already showing he’s the real deal

Minnesota Vikings rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson is already showing us he’s the real deal.

Coming into the 2020 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings wondered who would step into a hole among the receiving unit after trading away Stefon Diggs during the offseason. For the last few years, Diggs has led the way of the Vikings wide receiver group alongside Adam Thielen to provide quarterback Kirk Cousins with some weapons throughout the field in any given game.

With the departure of Diggs this offseason, there was a void alongside Thielen atop Minnesota depth chart and that resulted in the organization turning to the next man up to step into that role.

Later on in the offseason, during the 2020 NFL Draft, the Vikings used their first selection in the first round of the annual draft to select LSU product Justin Jefferson with pick No. 22 in an attempt to do just that. And the rookie has stepped up big for his team in his first professional season a few weeks prior to the midway point of the regular season.

Coming out of LSU, Minnesota knew Jefferson was a solid prospect that could evolve into a solid wide receiver in the NFL for years to come. And the way he has performed as of last proves that he is indeed the real deal.

Justin Jefferson has been everything the Minnesota Vikings could’ve asked for.

In six games, he has tallied a total of 28 receptions on 36 targets, hauling in 537 yards receiving and three touchdowns. He is averaging 19.2 yards per catch while recording a catch percentage of 77.8 percent. He leads the Vikings in receiving yards, yards per game (89.5) and yards after catch (184).

In the last four games, Jefferson has continued to break onto the scene after getting off to somewhat of a slow start to his rookie campaign. In Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans, the rookie wideout recorded a career-high 175 yards through the air, while managing to add two 100-plus yard receiving performances in Week 4 and Week 6 going into the bye week in Week 7.

Following the Week 6 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, Jefferson ranked fourth in the NFL in receiving yards, while also sitting near the top of the league in receiving touchdowns as well. He is also tied with Atlanta wide receiver Calvin Ridley for the most 20-plus yard catches (10), recording the fifth-longest reception of the year among receivers with a 71-yard gain.

When comparing Jefferson to what Diggs is doing in Buffalo so far this year, the rookie has mirrored the efforts of a star wide receiver in the league. Through six games, Diggs has recorded 42 receptions for 555 yards (third in NFL) and three touchdowns, averaging 92.5 yards per game, 13.2 yards per reception and adding a catch percentage of 71.2 percent.

As you can see, Jefferson has done as well, if not better, than Diggs has through six weeks of action in the regular season. Although there is plenty of the season yet to be played and Diggs’ Bills squad is doing better than Jefferson’s Vikings, Jefferson has filled in nicely in year one in Minnesota.

The Vikings might have initially thought that it would be hard to try and fill the void left behind by Diggs in the receiving unit in Minnesota. But the rookie Jefferson has continued to break onto the scene and has proved that he is the real deal.