Former LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson faced a lot of questions coming out of college about his potential transition to the NFL. While he put up impressive numbers last season catching passes from Joe Burrow in Joe Brady’s passing game, most of his production came from the slot. Some had concerns that if he was asked to face man coverage on the outside consistently, he might not make the transition too well. Many of his receptions came on crossing routes working off of play-action, or attacking zone coverage in the middle of the field. Would that be enough in the NFL?
Enter the Minnesota Vikings. They made Jefferson a first-round pick in the draft, in the wake of trading Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. What made Minnesota potentially a perfect fit for Jefferson was how they structure their offense personnel-wise. Last season they relied on 21 and 12 personnel to a great deal, which meant that receivers could align closer to the formation in the slot, where Jefferson did his best work in LSU given that two-way go option off the line.
It took a few games, but Jefferson has delivered in his third NFL contest. He caught his first NFL touchdown on, you guessed it, a crossing route working off of play-action:
7 catches, 175 yards, and his first career touchdown. Less than halfway into the third quarter.
Justin Jefferson is the real deal. pic.twitter.com/jt2rRzCjvN
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 27, 2020
Jefferson aligns in a slot to the left and works across the formation. Kirk Cousins executes a play-action fake and rolls slightly to the right, before finding Jefferson. From there, the receiver does the rest.
As you can see, Jefferson has huge numbers so far against the Tennessee Titans, and the day is not over. Maybe this could work out after all.