It’s rare when a team makes a trade that benefits both teams in a huge way. But that’s what happened when the Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs to Buffalo for the Bills’ 1st-round draft pick in 2020. The Vikings used the pick on wide receiver Justin Jefferson and he has quickly become one of the NFL’s most dominant receivers.
Below, we look at Justin Jefferson’s 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.
In 2 seasons, Jefferson has quickly supplanted Adam Thielen as the most dangerous weapon for quarterback Kirk Cousins. In 33 career games, Jefferson has caught 196 passes for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns, climbing his way up fantasy draft charts to be a mid-1st round pick.
Justin Jefferson’s ADP: 6.19
(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)
Jefferson has moved all the way up to the No. 2 fantasy wide receiver in the league. He trails only Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams) with an ADP at 5.19 and is ahead of the only other 1st-round receiver Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) at 9.45 as well as Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders) at 13.34.
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Justin Jefferson’s 2021 stats
Games: 17
Receptions | targets: 108 | 167
Receiving yards: 1,616
Receiving touchdowns: 10
Where should you draft Jefferson?
The only issue I have with this pick is that it forces the hand of the owner who takes him to hit running back hard in the 2nd and 3rd rounds because the talent pool dries up quickly there. Every owner needs 1 running back in the first 2 rounds and many jump on 2 RBs with their first couple of picks.
That being said, Jefferson is merely scratching the surface of his talent. He has set extremely high goals for himself because he has backed up everything that was expected of him and exceeded those expectations. Cousins isn’t a great quarterback, but he is accurate and Jefferson has the ability to separate for long gains – he has averaged 91.4 receiving yards a game in his career and averaged 95.1 YPG last year.
When you take a wide receiver this high, it’s a long time until the draft gets back to you and you start taking running backs. Given the high bar he has set and the ability to surpass it, Kupp and Jefferson are the only players I rank as 1st-round talents, so if he’s there in the middle to the end of the round, grab him. You won’t be disappointed.
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