Vikings WR Justin Jefferson says ‘teams that took a receiver instead of me are going to pay’ 

“I felt like I was the best receiver in this draft class, and being the fifth receiver off the board, it was kind of a shocker.”

The Vikings’ first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft joined CBS’ Zach Gelb on Thursday. Justin Jefferson, the former LSU wide receiver, was asked about the teams that took a receiver in front of him.

“I felt like I was the best receiver in this draft class, and being the fifth receiver off the board, it was kind of a shocker,” Jefferson told Gelb. “But also having having that on my shoulder going into this next season with Minnesota, I’m definitely excited to show the world what I have.”

Jefferson was a standout at LSU, and it was surprising to see Jalen Reagor go ahead of him to the Eagles. The Vikings got their guy at 22, though.

In his final season at LSU, Jefferson recorded 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns. Jefferson has drawn comparisons to Michael Thomas, Keenan Allen and Reggie Wayne, and he is ready to show the teams that passed on him that they made a mistake.

“Every single person that picked a receiver instead of me are going to pay,” Jefferson told Gelb. “I’m going to show them that I am the better receiver than the pick they had.” 

The new Vikings receiver has some big shoes to fill with the departure of Stefon Diggs, but he sounds like he’s up for the challenge. The team needed to find help at multiple positions and ended up getting one of their favorite receivers in this draft class.