Tag: Justin Jefferson

Glass Half Skol: Five reasons to be positive about the Vikings

Despite a down year, the Minnesota Vikings have reasons for optimism. Here’s why:

Part necessity and part choice, the Vikings decided to alter their roster quite a bit in the 2020 offseason.

Minnesota saw mass departures in free agency. The team traded its leading receiver from 2019, Stefon Diggs, to the Bills. The Vikings replaced veterans with rookies, all while locking in players like Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook for more years.

In 2020, that experiment did not work out. The Vikings finished 7-9 and missed out on the playoffs. That said, it’s not all bad. Minnesota drafted some promising rookies and have some obvious fixes for 2021.

So, let’s be positive. Here are some reasons Vikings fans can be happy:

Diggs finishes with 100 yards & TD in Bills’ playoff win

The Bills beat the Ravens 17-3 to advance to the AFC Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Bills beat the Ravens 17-3 to advance to the AFC Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Former Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs did his part in the win, catching eight passes for 106 yards and the game’s only offensive touchdown.

It was Diggs’ third 100-yard game in the playoffs and his second in as many games with the Bills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFfJbTACDJc

Of course, these big games from Diggs would sadden Vikings fans a bit more if it weren’t for rookie Justin Jefferson, who the Vikings got back in the Diggs trade.

In his rookie season, Jefferson finished with 88 catches for a rookie record 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns.

Diggs made just over $12 million in 2020 while Jefferson’s rookie contract paid him $7.7 million, however the majority of that came in a signing bonus. Jefferson’s contract is for just $1.2 million in 2021.

LeBron James compliments Vikings WR Justin Jefferson on his rookie season

NBA legend LeBron James had high praise for Vikings rookie receiver Justin Jefferson.

Justin Jefferson had a historic rookie season, which garnered praise from fans and analysts alike.

NBA legend LeBron James is one of the latest to chime in, congratulating Jefferson on a stellar first year in the NFL. Jefferson was talking about Space Jam 2 on his Instagram story and the Los Angeles Lakers star replied to it.

After James responded, Jefferson wrote back “Much love.”

The Vikings wide receiver finished his first NFL season with 1,400 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Despite a rough start for the team, the Vikings got back into playoff contention and Jefferson’s success was a big reason why.

Although four wide receivers were taken before Jefferson in the draft, he is looking like the best wideout in his class after his first season. He might even be the best player overall.

Bleacher Report gave Vikings an A for their 2020 draft class

The Minnesota Vikings pulled off a fantastic rookie haul for its 2020 draft class. Bleacher Report took notice.

Minnesota saw a mass exodus in free agency, which led to the Vikings replacing a lot of the talent through the draft.

Though Minnesota’s 2020 did not go fully as planed, Vikings fans can take solace in the fact that their team’s rookie class showed great promise.

Bleacher Report took notice of that, giving Minnesota an A grade for its most recent draft class. Here’s what the outlet said:

“The sheer number of picks improved the odds of finding meaningful contributors, and it worked. The Vikings appear to have landed one superstar, and several other long-term starters are already unveiling themselves.”

It’s gearing up to be yet another offseason of change and another one where the Vikings will replace veterans with rookies. If the team can hit on a couple of players like it did last time, a turnaround season could be possible.

Vikings’ Jefferson talks about the ‘disrespectful’ place he was taken in the draft

Four wide receivers went before Justin Jefferson in the NFL draft. The Minnesota Vikings picked Jefferson No. 22 overall.

Four wide receivers — that’s how many were taken before a team landed on Justin Jefferson in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Vikings selected Jefferson with the No. 22 pick. The rest is history. Jefferson had 1,400 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions. He also broke several rookie records.

Jefferson recently talked about his draft position with NFL Network’s Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter on the Huddle & Flow podcast. Here’s what he said (H/T NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman):

“I kept a chip on my shoulder, if you want to say that,” Jefferson said, via NFL.com. “I just felt like I was one of the top receivers, especially off of the performance I did with the national championship, having over 1,500 yards, having 18 touchdowns. So being the fifth receiver picked up, I felt that was disrespectful on their part.”

Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Reagor were the wide receivers taken before Jefferson. Some of them, Jeudy and Lamb especially, played well at times in their first NFL season. But none had a year quite like Jefferson did.

See where PFF ranks Vikings Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen in its WR rankings

Minnesota Vikings wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen thrived in their first season together. See where PFF ranks them.

The Minnesota Vikings went into 2020 with some question marks at the wide receiver position.

Would first-round pick Justin Jefferson be able to replace Stefon Diggs’ production? Would Adam Thielen come back from an injury-marred 2019 season?

The Vikings answered both of those questions this year. Jefferson broke several rookie records and was arguably the best rookie in his draft class. Thielen was a stellar target in the red zone and finished with 925 yards receiving.

Overall, it was a great season for the Vikings wide receiver corps. PFF rewarded that by ranking Jefferson and Thielen among the best wideouts in the NFL. See where they rank here below:

Justin Jefferson ranks 2nd in ESPN rookie rankings

Jefferson ranked being Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

It’s no secret that Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson had an incredible rookie season.

However, it’s somewhat overshadowed by how well quarterback Justin Herbert played with the Chargers.

In Jeff Legwold’s rookie rankings over at ESPN.com, Jefferson ranked second behind Herbert.

Here’s what Legwold wrote about Jefferson:

Two picks in, and we have two Justins with rookie records. Jefferson set his mark for receiving yards in a rookie season — Anquon Boldin’s record had stood for 16 years — and his 88 catches also set a new Vikings team record for rookies, putting him ahead of Hall of Famer Randy Moss. He finished the year with seven 100-yard games and will be a major piece for this Minnesota offense going forward.

Herbert’s great season shouldn’t take away from what we saw from Jefferson as a rookie. While it’s hard to replace Stefon Diggs, Jefferson made that deal look decent for the Vikings.

Five former LSU stars selected to NFL All-Pro team

The 2020 NFL regular season is now over, and postseason awards are starting to be announced.

The 2020 NFL regular season is now over, and postseason awards are starting to be announced. On Friday, the NFL announced its 2020 All-Pro team, and several former LSU stars were honored.

Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu was LSU’s lone representative on the first team. Mathieu played in 15 games in 2020, recording 62 tackles and six interceptions for the Super Bowl champions.

Justin Jefferson was named second-team All-Pro. The rookie receiver broke numerous rookie receiving records during his first season with the Minnesota Vikings. Jefferson finished the season with 88 receptions for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jefferson’s 1,400 receiving yards were an NFL rookie record.

Devin White, Tre’Davious White and Jamal Adams all joined Jefferson on the second team.

Devin White finished No. 6 in the NFL in total tackles in 2020 and also recorded a career-high nine sacks.

Tre’Davious White had 54 tackles, 11 passes defended and three interceptions for the Bills in 2020. White has become one of the NFL’s premier cornerbacks in his young career.

Adams, who was traded from the New York Jets to the Seattle Seahawks just before the season, had a career year in his new home.

In 12 games, Adams finished with 83 tackles and 9.5 sacks. The 9.5 sacks were an NFL record for a defensive back.

With the exception of Jefferson, the other former LSU stars will participate in the NFL playoffs.

Highest graded Vikings on offense from the 2020 season

Here are the highest graded Minnesota Vikings players on offense in 2020. Qualifying players must have at least 100 NFL snaps.

Heading into the year, the Vikings had some promise.

The team was coming off a playoff berth and a victory over the Saints in the postseason. Minnesota had departures in free agency, but some of those players struggled for the team in 2019.

There was an argument to be made that the Vikings got slightly better. That was not the case, of course.

With a younger roster and worse injury luck, Minnesota finished 7-9, missing out on the postseason.

The Vikings had plenty of disappointments this year, but there are still reasons for optimism. Several first-year players stood out, for instance.

Here is a look at the highest graded Vikings with at least 100 snaps from the 2020 season on offense, as compiled by Pro Football Focus. It wasn’t a year to remember for Vikings fans, but these players have potential.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert named finalist for 2020 Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year

Make sure to cast your vote.

The National Football League today announced quarterback Justin Herbert as a finalist for the 2020 Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year award following his record-setting campaign.

Fans can vote online at www.nfl.com/voting/rookies or directly on Twitter beginning today through January 25. To cast a vote on Twitter, fans should tweet #PepsiROY + Justin Herbert.

An accidental punctured lung to QB Tyrod Taylor in Week 2 is what led to glimpse of greatness. Herbert took over the driver’s seat and never looked back.

In 15 games, Herbert completed 66.6% of his passes for 4,336 yards with 31 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. He also added 234 yards rushing with five rushing touchdowns.

He set rookie records for total touchdowns (36), passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), multi-passing touchdown games (10), games with 300 yards passing (eight), and three-passing touchdown games (six). He was just 38 yards short of Andrew Luck’s rookie record of 4,374 yards passing.

The other four finalists are Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Jaguars running back James Robinson, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young.