Notebook: Why Glenn Believes Justin Jefferson Is Best WR in NFL

Notes from Lions' coordinators on Jefferson, Jake Bates' tackle.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18). / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The NFC North is one of the best divisions in the NFL up to this point in the 2024 season, and on Sunday the two top teams will face off.

For the Detroit Lions, this means another battle with the Minnesota Vikings. Unbeaten, the Vikings have looked the part of the best team in the division throughout the year. Headlining their offensive attack is wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who has been no stranger to success against the Lions.

On Thursday, Lions' defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn had high praise for the LSU product who has tormented the defense in years past.

"In my opinion, I think he's the best receiver in the league," Glenn said. "That's no disrespect to any of the other receivers. Listen, Ja'Marr Chase, there's a ton of really, really good receivers in this league. I think the one thing that sets him apart is his toughness. Man, this guy here has taken some shots going across the middle, and he's not afraid to go across the middle and he's gonna reach, grab, do whatever he can to catch the ball. He takes some shots and gets right back up."

Glenn explained that Jefferson's swagger and confidence help to elevate the performance of the teammates around him.

"He has a swagger about himself. He gets right back to the huddle and he's ready to go play. I think that inspires his teammates," Glenn explained. "You're talking about a great player that elevates his teammates. That's one of the reasons why his teammates are elevated, because of the way he plays the game."

Jefferson has been a nightmare for the Lions' defense in recent years. Last season, Jefferson had games of 141 yards and 192 yards in the team's two meetings. In his career, the LSU product has 62 catches for 1,073 yards and three touchdowns in eight games against Detroit.

"It shows his ability, who he is," Glenn explained. "I think the coaching staff does a really good job of getting him in positions where you just can't press him and things like that. They move him around quite a bit against us. We have to do a really good job with our coverage responsibility to make sure we're on point. Alignments are right, understand exactly what we're trying to do in certain situations, man or zone, to make sure we're not out of position."

Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is another one of the wideouts considered to be among the best at the position in the league. He reiterated that every wide receiver wants to be viewed as the top player at the position.

"I didn't even know he said that," St. Brown said. "He's a great player, Justin's one of the best in the game. I love watching him play, he competes. Shoot, I'm a fan, he's awesome to watch. But this weekend I'm not a fan, we've got to go out there and get the dub."

Jake Bates' tackle impresses

Sunday marked an NFL first for kicker Jake Bates. The first-year player went four-for-four on field goal attempts, including a career-long 48-yard boot to remain perfect through five games, but he also recorded his first career tackle.

After Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin deked out the Lions coverage team by faking a reverse handoff, he raced up the sideline with Bates as the only line of defense.

Bates forced Turpin to the sideline before finishing the play with a tackle out of bounds. He has shown special teams coordinator Dave Fipp flashes of that physicality, and Fipp considers that to be a positive.

"Not that we want him to make tackles, for sure, that’s definitely not the goal, but it’s inevitable a little bit at some point," Fipp said. "One thing I do feel fortunate about is that Jake’s a bigger bodied kicker. He’s not a small guy back there, and usually those small guys end up getting hurt when they’re in on tackles. He did a good job edging the guy out of bounds but also having a physical presence to him, too. The good news with him is he’s kind of an athlete. He grew up playing sports, soccer, all that stuff, he’s not just a small kicker back there kicking the ball."

Fipp also shared that the team will have to find a new emergency long-snapper, as that role had belonged to Aidan Hutchinson prior to his injury in Week 6.

Ben Johnson: Vikings will look to 'expose' offense

The chess match between Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will be one of the biggest defining factors in Sunday's matchup.

Johnson and Flores are considered two of the best in the league at their respective positions. As a result, the battle between their units on the field will have a large role in how the game is ultimately decided.

Flores paid Johnson compliments during his media availability earlier in the week, and Johnson responded with some compliments of his own.

"I think he's just trying to butter us up a little bit," Johnson said. "No, I'm sure he's got plenty of things that he's gonna try to go after and look to try to expose from us. We try to do a great job each week with our self scout and what we're putting on tape and trying to counter whatever that is. No, it's awfully nice that he would say something like that, but that's really a credit to our guys. We have some phenomenal players at every position group. Not only are they talented, but their style of play is what separates them apart from a lot of these other offenses. They go hard for 60 minutes, and we'll have to do that again here this week."