For Justin Jefferson, the next hurdle is doing it again
EAGAN — Justin Jefferson hasn’t been shy this offseason about his enthusiasm for the new Minnesota Vikings offense. Well, until this week.
Over the spring and summer, he name-dropped Cooper Kupp numerous times and implied to eager interviewers that the offense was going to skyrocket with Kevin O’Connell calling the shots.
But on Wednesday at the podium at TCO Performance Center, he made sure to choose his words carefully. When Kupp’s name and the topic of his personal statistical goals came up, Jefferson said: “I don’t know. Whatever God has in store for me. But I’m just ready to take on any challenge. I’m very excited about our new offense and our new team. Hopefully we have the year we are already expecting to have.”
The subject of his next contract — he can sign an extension after this year — was met with even less jubilation from the superstar wide receiver.
“I’ll focus on the contract after the season….I’m not that fond of money,” he said.
Presumably Jefferson means that he isn’t all that concerned about his next deal. Of course, when you compare his accomplishments to the dollars that have been dolled out to receivers, most recently DK Metcalf at $72 million over three years, Jefferson can be very confident he’ll do fine for himself with another good season.
For Jefferson contract and expectation pressure is the next hurdle in a career where he’s been Usain Bolt so far.
When he first arrived at TCO Performance Center in 2020, he wasn’t given the starting job right away but in his first chance he went for 175 yards against the Tennessee Titans. Level 1, conquered. Then he was asked to repeat it week after week and drive an offense that was forced to overcome a struggling defense. In the final week of the season, he broke Randy Moss’s rookie receiving record. Level 2, beaten.
Going into 2021, Jefferson was aware that defenses were going to gameplan for him. He wouldn’t be catching anybody by surprise. But it didn’t matter how much they prepared, the former LSU star caught everything that came his way and ended up within one play of the franchise yardage record. Level 3, down.
The final stage of becoming a true megastar in the NFL, of which there are maybe 20-25 across the league, is beating the snot out of pressure. This offseason Jefferson has been the darling of every fantasy podcast. His stats, which have the chance to improve even from his marvelous first two years, are going to be the weekly focus of the football-analysis world. Every down game will be scrutinized. Any type of slow start would bring questions about whether he can keep doing it like he did in 2020 and 2021.
His quarterback recognizes this fact. Kirk Cousins said there are many who have beaten Levels 1, 2 and 3 but failed to keeping it up no matter the outside noise.
“The challenge will be to do it again and again and again,” Cousins said. “If it was easy to do, more players would do it. You see a lot of people in this league go to a Pro Bowl, have some success, and then you ask the question 'What happened to him?' So I've been challenging him to make sure that question never is asked about you, Justin. And I don't see a reason why it would. But that will always be the challenge, to make sure that ten years from now, we're still talking about how Justin Jefferson is an unbelievable player in this league. So that's what he's working towards.”
Jefferson has always seemed comfortable with the stage. Having come from a national championship-winning college team he thrived in the limelight right away. Through his rise and the recognition of what he’s accomplished, Jefferson always talked about wanting to get better and wanting badly to win.
“My best version of myself hasn't come yet, I feel,” he said. “I still have things to improve on. I feel like my game can go up even more than what it has been, too…We're trying to get back to that winning record. I hate losing, I'm a competitive person, I'll be satisfied once we win the big goal.”
But even as skilled as he may be at placing his focus on self improvement and bettering the team’s record, the overhanging question of this season is what it will mean for his future. Will he be the highest paid receiver in the NFL? Will he want to sign with Minnesota as soon as he can? Will he have a say in the future of the QB position? That’s a lot to block out.
Of course, the great ones do.
“His mindset is between the lines,” O’Connell said on Thursday. “The short-term focus of just making sure he was ready to go yesterday… his mindset is exactly where we want it to be for a still somewhat younger player. The success that he’s had, for him to kind of understand the way to handle all that is just to continue doing what he’s always done since he became a Minnesota Viking on the field.”
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