Justin Jefferson could be on the brink of a Cooper Kupp sort of year with coach Kevin O’Connell jumping ship from the Los Angeles Rams to the Minnesota Vikings.
NFL.com’s Adam Schein has even gone as far as ranking the Vikings star wideout eighth on his list of top-nine dark horse MVP candidates.
It makes sense considering Kupp was in that very same spot with the Rams last season. The award was obviously given to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but Kupp’s name was consistently in the mix in a year where he hauled in a ridiculous 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The fact that he didn’t win the award means Jefferson might have to go over 2,000 receiving yards to make a legitimate case for himself. It’s a quarterback-driven league, and the players under center will always have an edge when it comes to the MVP award.
However, Jefferson wasn’t too far off last season with 108 receptions for 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The hope is that O’Connell will scheme the offense in ways that could potentially make him pop even more on the field. And given the elite talent at the skilled positions for the Vikings, it’s going to be harder for teams to key in on him defensively.
A healthier Adam Thielen will play a significant role in the offense, and the team already has two budding young receiving talents in K.J. Osborn and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Tight end Irv Smith Jr. will be returning as well to an offense that’s also expected to get running back Dalvin Cook more involved in the passing attack.
This Vikings roster is loaded on the offensive side of the ball.
And Jefferson, 22, is only scratching the surface of what he’s truly capable of as a receiver at the NFL level. He’s as live as it gets as a potential dark horse candidate when it comes to non-quarterbacks.
The threat of that untapped potential being completely unleashed under O’Connell is a terrifying one that should keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night.
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