Josh Metellus: Justin Jefferson tries to 'embarrass' defenders in practice

"What I always tell the rookies when they come in, is that anytime you line up with him, he's trying to embarrass you."

Josh Metellus (44) at Vikings practice / Image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Josh Metellus became a household name last season after lining up all over the field on a resurgent Vikings defense. Now, heading into year five, he's looking to be a veteran presence on a young, developing defense.

"Camp's going great. I've been really leaning on the younger guys, trying to bring them along," Metellus said on a Tuesday appearance on Good Morning Football. "We got a good group and I'm just excited to see what everybody is going to do this season."

After three seasons of mostly special teams work, Metellus broke through in 2023 and became a key contributor for a defense that showed significant improvements from a dismal 2022 season. He registered 116 total tackles, including seven for loss, in his breakout campaign while lining up in 12 different positions in Brian Flores' aggressive scheme.

While the defense has, once again, undergone some significant changes, much of the focus has been on the Vikings offense. With a pair of new quarterbacks signaling the first change at the position in six years, there has been a lot of attention paid to the QB battle between Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy during training camp.

"It's a great competition. You've got two guys at different points of their careers. You've got two competitors and it's just been great to see both of them approach the game how they've been approaching it. They're very competitive, very elite in terms of poise and I think they're just getting each other better. They're going to make that whole room better," said Metellus. "I'm excited to see what they do, especially J.J., in these preseason games, getting his first NFL game under his belt."

Another big focus this offseason for Vikings fans was the ongoing negotiations with star receiver Justin Jefferson. Those came to end in early June when Jefferson inked a record-breaking, four-year, $140 million deal. With the contract out of the way Jefferson can now focus on bouncing back from a season in which injuries took him out of seven games.

"He's great. What I always tell the rookies when they come in, is that anytime you line up with him, he's trying to embarrass you," Metellus said when asked what it's like practicing against Jefferson. "He takes that to heart, he never wants to lose a rep. So, anytime you line up against him, you have to bring your A game because he's going to get you better. He wants the big play. He wants the crowd cheering. He wants to literally embarrass you out on the practice field. So, when you go against him you have to be on your A game. Over these past five years, he's helped me become such a better player. Just treating practice like a game so that when the game comes I don't see a better receiver than him."

On if Jefferson has ever tested Metellus on the practice field, Metellus responded, "of course."

"I'm a big competitor and I like to talk a lot, especially out on that field. We get on each other a little bit but it's all about making each other better," said Metellus.

While Jefferson's contract exploits were a big focus of the offseason, the star receiver was also one of several stars featured on Netflix's latest football docuseries, Receiver. After Jefferson and former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins featured on separate Netflix documentaries each of the past two seasons, Metellus said it's time for the defense to get the focus.

"if they did anything on the defense I would be a great candidate. I play every position on defense so if they wanted to do 'Defender,' they wanted to do 'Linebacker,' I could make a case for it," said Metellus. "I think my position, especially with Flores coaching us, is a very interesting position. They'll get to see the ins and outs of what I really do. I'm a big family man and the way I play on the field, I'm really different off the field. I'm a big aggressive guy but off the field I'm a cuddlebug with my family, big family guy."