Justin Jefferson
No. 18 – Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | St. Rose, Louisiana | June 16, 1999||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Destrehan (Destrehan, Louisiana) | ||||||||
College: | LSU | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2021 | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Justin Jefferson (born June 16, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He set an NFL rookie record for receiving yards with 1,400 and was named to the Pro Bowl.
Early years
Jefferson attended Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana.[1] He committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.[2]
College career
After appearing in two games and not recording a catch his first year at LSU in 2017, Jefferson was their leading receiver in 2018 with 54 catches for 875 yards and six touchdowns.[3][4][5]
As a junior in 2019, Jefferson led the country with 111 receptions. His 18 receiving touchdowns ranked second in the country—behind only teammate Ja'Marr Chase—and his 1,540 receiving yards were third most.[6] He had a historic performance in the Peach Bowl, catching 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns against the Oklahoma Sooners. All four touchdowns came in the first half, and set a College Football Playoff game record and tied the record for any bowl game.[7] In the National Championship against Clemson, he had nine receptions for 106 yards in the 42–25 victory.[8] On January 15, 2020, Jefferson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.[9]
Statistics
Season | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
2017 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
2018 | 54 | 875 | 16.2 | 65 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 19 | 0 |
2019 | 111 | 1,540 | 13.9 | 71 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Career[10] | 165 | 2,415 | 14.6 | 71 | 24 | 6 | 30 | 6.0 | 19 | 0 |
Professional career
2020
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 1+1⁄4 in (1.86 m) |
202 lb (92 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.43 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
19 | |||||
All values from NFL Combine[11][12] |
Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[13] The Vikings previously obtained the 22nd selection as part of the trade that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.[14] As he couldn’t continue to wear his college number which was 2 he had to switch so Jefferson chose to wear number 18 in the NFL. Jefferson signed a four-year, $13.12 million contract with the team, with a $7.1 million signing bonus.[15] Jefferson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on July 27, 2020,[16] before being cleared and activated a week later.[17]
Jefferson made his debut in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, recording two receptions for 26 yards.[18] He made his first start of the season, in a Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans, where he had his first big breakthrough by finishing with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions, but the Vikings lost 30–31.[19] He followed up that performance the next week with four receptions for 103 yards in a 31–23 win over the Houston Texans. In doing so, he became just the fifth rookie wide receiver in Vikings history to have back to back games with at least 100 yards receiving.[20] During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jefferson finished with 9 receptions for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns .[21]
In Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jefferson recorded nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown during a 27–24 overtime win, in this game he broke the 1,000 receiving yard mark.[22] In Week 15 against the Chicago Bears, Jefferson broke Randy Moss's Vikings rookie receiving record by catching eight passes, putting him at 74 receptions, surpassing the 69 catches Moss had in 1998.[23] By the season's end, Jefferson had set the NFL record for most receiving yards (1,400) by a rookie in NFL history after surpassing Anquan Boldin's 1,377 yards in 2003.[24] He was one of only two rookies named to the 2021 Pro Bowl, alongside Chase Young of the Washington Football Team.[25] He was also named rookie of the year by the Sporting News.[26]
NFL career statistics
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
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GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
2020 | MIN | 16 | 14 | 88 | 1,400 | 15.9 | 71T | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | MIN | 6 | 6 | 41 | 542 | 13.2 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Career | 22 | 20 | 129 | 1,942 | 15.1 | 71 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Personal life
His brothers, Jordan and Rickey, also played college football at LSU. Their father, John, played Division II college basketball.[27] On April 27, 2021 Jefferson was the first NFL player to be added to Fortnite with his dance, Get Griddy.[28]
References
- ^ Gillen, Garland (September 16, 2016). "Another Jefferson stars for Destrehan football". fox8live.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Lopez, Andrew (August 3, 2017). "Destrehan's Justin Jefferson added to LSU football team". NOLA.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Justin Jefferson 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Justin Jefferson 2018 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ Guilbeau, Glenn (August 23, 2019). "LSU's Justin Jefferson will transition from Mr. Outside to Mr. Inside at receiver in 2019". The Advertiser.
- ^ "Justin Jefferson College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ West, Jenna (December 29, 2019). "Five Things to Know About Justin Jefferson, LSU's Breakout Receiver". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "College Football Championship – Clemson vs LSU Box Score, January 13, 2020". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Conway, Tyler (January 15, 2020). "LSU WR Justin Jefferson Declares for 2020 NFL Draft". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "Justin Jefferson Stats". ESPN. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Justin Jefferson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Wonderlic scores released for WR prospects, Jeudy and Lamb struggle". knbr.com. April 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ White, R.J. (April 23, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft grades: Vikings get an 'A' for selecting Justin Jefferson at No. 22 overall". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "2020 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ Rapp, Timothy (July 22, 2020). "Report: Justin Jefferson, Vikings Agree to 4-Year, $13.12M Rookie Contract". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves". Vikings.com. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves; Justin Jefferson Activated". Vikings.com. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ "Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings – September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Houston Texans – October 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – October 18th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ^ DeArdo, Bryan (December 20, 2020). "Vikings' Justin Jefferson breaks Randy Moss' longstanding franchise rookie record". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ Cronin, Courtney (January 3, 2021). "WR Jefferson sets Super Bowl-era rookie record". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ Sullivan, Tyler (December 21, 2020). "Pro Bowl rosters for NFC and AFC: Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers named starters, two rookies make the cut". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ Manning, Bryan (January 22, 2021). "Former LSU star Justin Jefferson is Sporting News rookie of the year". LSU Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ Kubena, Brooks (September 20, 2018). "LSU family legacy continues through Justin Jefferson: 'It's like he was destined to do it'". The Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "'Fortnite' NFL: Justin Jefferson Gets Skin and 'Get Griddy' Emote in Battle Royale—When is it Available?".