Justin Jefferson Matches NFL Record As Quickest to Reach 5,000 Yards

The receiver added another achievement to his already impressive résumé.
In this story:

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson officially matched the NFL record for being the fastest player to reach 5,000 career receiving yards on Thursday night in the first half of Minnesota’s game vs. the Eagles.

It took Jefferson just 52 games to reach this milestone, which is the same amount of time it took Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth to reach 5,000 yards back in the 1960s.

Jefferson is also just the second player in NFL history to reach 5,000 career yards before turning 25 years old, per NFL Research, joining another legendary Vikings receiver in Randy Moss.

The 24-year-old needed just 25 yards entering Thursday night’s game in order to tie the record. It didn’t take Jefferson too long to reach that as he racked up 57 yards in the first half.

The reigning Offensive Player of the Year posted a league-best 1,809 yards last season. Prior to the 2022 season, Jefferson finished with 1,400 yards in ‘20 and 1,616 yards in ‘21.


Published
Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.