Justin Jefferson wins AP Offensive Player of the Year award
Justin Jefferson was the first player to receive an award at the NFL Honors show Thursday night, taking home the AP Offensive Player of the Year award after he set franchise records in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 13-4 record and the NFC North division title.
"First and foremost, I gotta thank the man upstairs," Jefferson began in his brief acceptance speech. "My whole career has been amazing."
"More to come," he added. "More to come."
Your 2022 OPOY: Justin Jefferson@jjettas2 | @Surface
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2023
📺: #NFLHonors on NBC pic.twitter.com/N9ET3q1BO9
Jefferson's competition for the award were wide receiver, Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
By the numbers, here's how the four superstars compare:
- Jefferson: 128 catches for 1,809 yards and 9 TD (1 rushing)
- Hill: 119 catches for 1,710 yards and 8 TD (1 rushing)
- Mahomes: 5,250 pass yards, 41 TD, 12 INT, 358 rush yards, 4 TD
- Hurts: 3,701 pass yards, 21 TD, 6 INT, 760 rush yards, 13 TD
Jefferson is also a finalist for the MVP award. His competition includes Mahomes, Hurts, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
A wide receiver has never won the MVP award.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.