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Before anything else, let it be clear to everyone that there has NEVER been a time in the NFL that a wide receiver has won the league’s MVP award. It’s about the quarterback, more often than not. The last time a non-QB won the award was in 2012 when running back Adrian Peterson returned from an ACL injury and had to play close to a God to pocket the hardware at the end of that year’s season. Since then, the quarterbacks have not allowed any other position to win MVP. In other words, the odds are already so stacked against Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Even then, there’s no stopping us from making an MVP case for Jefferson, who is on his way to becoming an all-time great. With or without the MVP this year, Jefferson will remain a valuable and nearly irreplaceable piece for the Vikings.
Elite play all the time
The NFL is flush with insane talents at the wide receiver position. That seems like a mundane thing to say because it’s so obvious. But that is also a reason why Justin Jefferson deserves MVP attention, at the very least. To be the best wide receiver in a league already brimming with unbelievable athletes playing the same position and being so while setting and breaking records simply can’t be ignored.
Jefferson is also always out there on the field. And by that, we mean that he’s played in every Vikings game so far, and not once has he appeared in fewer than 79 percent of offensive snaps in a contest in the 2022 NFL regular season. That’s important to note because the next three most productive wide receivers – in terms of receiving yards – namely, Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys, and Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills all have played in multiple games in which they saw 65 or lower percent of offensive snaps.
Through 16 weeks of the 2022 NFL regular season, Jefferson is still leading the league in targets (179), receptions (124), and receiving yards, while also posting 14.3 yards per reception. Considering the double teams he's consistently been getting and the weekly target on his back, it's amazing how Justin Jefferson could still come up with fantastic production.
Vikes can take a hike without Justin Jefferson
The Vikings can replace Kirk Cousins with a subpar quarterback and still have success so long as they have Jefferson torching defensive backs downfield. Minnesota can still be a high-scoring team even if you take out running back Dalvin Cook. They have a bit of history of success even when they’re missing Cook and relying just on Alexander Mattison to pick up the yards on the ground.
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But it’s not that easy to look someone in the eye and say that the Vikings will still be the same high-scoring team over a stretch without Jefferson. He’s just been so good this season that in theory, the Vikings might need two above-average wide receivers lining up to compensate for a hypothetical Jefferson absence. The Vikings have been so dependent on Jefferson. After 17 weeks of football, Jefferson is head and shoulders above the rest of the team with 101 receptions on 148 targets. Adam Thielen is still a stud, but Cousins just can’t help himself from volume-throwing at Jefferson. Thielen is second on the team in receptions with 63 and in targets with 96 – both numbers are easily dwarfed by Jefferson’s.
Take away Justin Jefferson from the equation and the stack of cards that is the Vikings’ pass-heavy offense will collapse. And that’s not to mention that Jefferson has thrived despite Minnesota’s poor job at protecting Cousins. Many of Cousins’ throws have been made with the Vikings’ offensive line collapsing early, but several of those passes have also been rescued by Jefferson.
Here's what Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill had to say about Justin Jefferson late last December, per Jeff Wald of FOX 9:
He’s averaging more than 14 yards a catch, despite often seeing double teams and being the focus of an opponent’s game plan every week.
“Just get him the rock, it seems to be working week in and week out. He’s special man, he really is”.
The Vikings are just 13th in the NFL with an adjusted sack rate of 6.6 percent, according to Football Outsiders. Meanwhile, Cousins is the third-most sacked player this season, as he’s kissed the ground 46 times already off of sacks. The only other two players with more sacks absorbed than Cousins are Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Imagine if either of those quarterbacks has Justin Jefferson instead.
