Getty Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings reacts after scoring a touchdown with teammate Kirk Cousins in the first quarter of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelersat U.S. Bank Stadium on December 09, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson‘s top-five quarterbacks rankings have gone viral not for who is on the list but who was left off it.
On a trip to Brazil during the NFL’s summer break before training camp, Jefferson was asked by a local reporter to rank the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. He ranked them as follows: 1. Patrick Mahomes, No. 2 Aaron Rodgers, No. 3 Joe Burrow, No. 4 Jalen Hurts and No. 5 Josh Allen.
🚨Top 5 Quarterbacks da NFL para o Justin Jefferson + cara mais difícil de enfrentar.
Jefferson gave Cousins an honorable mention, slipping Cousins’ “Kirko” nickname after his top five, but that didn’t keep fans from going into a frenzy as it was overlooked and unsubtitled in the video.
“If Kirk hears this, JJ will never get a pass,” one fan replied with a laugh.
Another fan replied: “Didn’t even mention Cousins’ name, huh?”
One fan posted an uncomfortable photo below referring to Cousins which sums up most of the Twitter reactions.
“Kirk Cousins opening this,” another fan replied with an uncomfortable gif.
Kirk Cousins ouvindo isso: pic.twitter.com/rYkZy6XUz5
— Jorge Luis Tavares🏈🆘️🦅 (@jorgelta) July 1, 2023
“He simply ignored the guy on his own team,” one fan added.
ELE SIMPLESMENTE IGNORA O CARA DO TIME DELE KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK https://t.co/k0QJARCSMX
— daniel (@danihellsan) July 1, 2023
Another fan acknowledged Jefferson’s omission of Cousins compared to Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill hyping up Tua Tagovailoa as an MVP despite Tagovailoa not being a consensus top-five quarterback either.
Had Jefferson put Cousins in his top five, the video may have caused even more fanfare as the national consensus is Cousins is a fringe top-10 quarterback in the league. Given Cousins’ polarizing image to the national NFL audience, it was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation for Jefferson.
Justin Jefferson Defends Kirk Cousins in the Line of Criticism
As Jefferson’s national stardom has grown over the past three years, he’s become a frequent guest on national media. Several times critics tried to put down Cousins, and Jefferson defended his quarterback.
“He definitely takes a lot of heat, he takes way more heat than he really deserves,” Jefferson said on The Jim Rome Show after his record-breaking rookie season. “If you look at the numbers, he’s top of the league. He’s been doing a lot of things for this team and for this offense. I don’t really understand why he gets so much criticism. All of those losses that we had wasn’t on him. Of course, we would like to take some plays back and redo some plays but that’s just how it is. You don’t play perfectly, especially in this league, and to see the things that he has done I really don’t know why he gets so much criticism. He’s the reason why I had 1,400 yards.”
Even as Cousins led the Vikings to a 12-3 start to the 2022 season, Channing Crowder, the host of the Pivot Podcast, appeared on ESPN and attempted to discredit Cousins, calling him the crux of the team in the few times they struggled.
“Down by 33 to make that comeback [against the Indianapolis Colts]… and they got molly whopped by the Cowboys a couple of weeks back,” Crowder said. “I’ve seen some weaknesses in the Vikings, and it’s on Kirk Cousins’ shoulders.”
Jefferson clapped back, resharing Crowder’s rant and adding “All of the Kirk criticism has to stop!! I understand y’all hate the dad swag but come on his numbers are right with y’all’s MVP candidates.”
Kirk Cousins Enters Prove-It Year With Vikings
Cousins won over some of his critics last season by leading a league-high eight-game winning drives en route to a 13-4 record despite the Vikings owning one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
However, Cousins still has just one playoff win in five seasons in Minnesota and lost all four games on a national stage last season.
This offseason, Minnesota did not agree on an extension for Cousins, who enters the final year of his contract this season and expects to entertain free agency in March.
If Cousins can put together a playoff run this season, the Vikings are likely to enter contract talks again with him, making this year a prove-it season for the veteran quarterback.
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Justin Jefferson’s QB Rankings Has Fans Trolling Vikings’ Kirk Cousins