After a dominant week one against the Green Bay Packers, things have been tough for star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
His week one performance was nothing short of spectacular. He caught nine pass on 11 targets for 184 yards and two touchdowns. With the Packers playing zone defense consistently, Jefferson was able to run free consistently.
In weeks two and three, Jefferson caught the same nine passes for a paltry 62 yards and zero touchdowns. In being mostly shut down by man coverage, there are a lot of ways for the Vikings to take advantage of how Jefferson is being double covered with mostly bracket coverage. The fourth down play below is a perfect example of that.
Adam Thielen catches this when he finds the softspot in the zone after Jefferson draws the flat defender deep with him along with two other defenders.
Using Jefferson to open space both underneath and in the intermediate levels can make a massive difference for the Vikings as they try to continue to scheme open Jefferson.