Justin Jefferson plummets from 2023 to 2024 in NFL top 100

Jefferson was ranked No. 2 in last year's top-100 list.

Justin Jefferson / Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Make it two current members of the Minnesota Vikings on the 2024 top-100 players list from NFL Network as Justin Jefferson has checked in at No. 18.

The only other Vikings player on the list is 13-year safety Harrison Smith, who is ranked No. 93, and considering the fact that Jefferson is Minnesota's best player it's a strong likelihood that the top 17 won't feature anyone in purple and gold.

For Jefferson, the No. 18 ranking represents a significant slide after he was voted No. 2 in 2023.

Jefferson's drop is obviously due to the hamstring injury that knocked him out for nearly half of last season, though he still found a way to rack up 68 catches for more than 1,000 yards. It was a far cry from his 2022 campaign that garnered the Offensive Player of the Year award when he finished with 128 receptions for 1,809 yards.

Jefferson was on pace to duplicate or even surpass his 2022 stats until he suffered a serious hamstring strain in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The injury kept him out for two months and in his first game back he left the game in the first quarter after suffering an internal injury when he was hit hard in the back against the Raiders.