Justin Jefferson is eager to remind NFL fans that he's among the game's greatest playmakers. The Minnesota Vikings star settled for career lows in receiving yards (1,048) and touchdowns (two) during the 2025 campaign. Jefferson will look to rediscover his All-Pro form alongside new quarterback Kyler Murray this year.
Jefferson put the league on notice ahead of his seventh season. Per The Athletic's Michael Silver, the 27-year-old expects the public to recognize him soon as the NFL's top wide receiver. "Not yet," Jefferson said on Thursday.
"But they will (know) after this year — I’ll tell you that." Jefferson has garnered much consideration as the league's premier pass catcher amid a dominant start to his career. The 2020 first-round pick set NFL records for the most receiving yards in his first three (4,825) and four (5,512) seasons. However, Jefferson didn't live up to those lofty standards in Minnesota's 29th-ranked passing offense last season.
He had averaged 96.5 receiving yards per game through his career before falling to 61.6 in 2025. Jefferson reached 100 receiving yards just three times and went 11 straight games without clearing 85 before a Week 18 win over a Green Bay Packers squad resting starters. He couldn't find a rhythm alongside J.J.
McCarthy and Carson Wentz, but the four-time Pro Bowler wouldn't publicly complain about the suboptimal situation. "It's a part of the game," Jefferson said. "Not everything is gonna be flowers and rainbows, you know?
Not every season is going to be the best season ever, and that's something that you just kind of got to deal with — something that as a leader, as a captain of this team, everybody is looking at me, everybody has eyes on me." Jefferson can make an early statement that he still belongs atop the NFL hierarchy when the Vikings open their season by hosting the Packers on Sept. 13.
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