The gravity that Minnesota Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson commands on the field seems to be lost on many entering the 2025 season.
This week, Pro Football Focus (PFF) released its “PFF50” list, ranking the top 50 players in the league ahead of the season.
A year ago, Jefferson ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver and the No. 4 overall player on the list, which is representative of the game-changing impact he has on the field as defenses alter their entire structure to stop him.
Jefferson was his usual self with Sam Darnold throwing him the ball last season. He surpassed 100 receptions for the third time in his five-year career, tallying 1,533 yards receiving and matched a career-high 10 touchdowns.
However, in this year’s PFF50, Jefferson slid far from his status as a top-five non-quarterback, landing at No. 18 overall and the No. 2 wide receiver in the league behind Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown at No. 16 overall.
While PFF’s write-up for Jefferson’s ranking offered nothing but praise, it did not address much reason for his slide, especially considering a vital detail that gave Brown the edge in the rankings.
🟣 93.4 PFF grade (1st) 🟡 7,432 receiving yards (1st)
The No. 18 player and No. 2 WR on the PFF50
Justin Jefferson Remains in a League of His Own Despite PFF Snub
At first glance, PFF did not slight Jefferson in any regard.
“Jefferson remains firmly in the conversation for the NFL’s best wide receiver. Even in 2024—his first season with a PFF grade below 90.0—he still finished among the league’s top 10 at the position,” the company wrote. “Since entering the league in 2020, he leads all receivers with a 93.6 PFF grade and 2.64 PFF WAR. At this pace, Jefferson could crack the NFL’s all-time top 100 in receiving yards before his 27th birthday and is well on his way to a legendary career.”
Jefferson’s 7,432 yards receiving through five seasons is the most by any player in NFL history — and he’s doing so despite facing an unrivaled amount of double teams.
According to Wide Left’s Arif Hasan, Jefferson ran more routes facing double teams than any receiver in the NFL from 2022 to 2023 despite only playing 27 of 34 games in those seasons.
“The difference in double-team rate between Jefferson (33.1%) and second-place [Tyreek] Hill (28.4%) is the same as the distance between Hill and 15th place,” Hasan wrote.
Despite facing more double teams than any receiver in the league in that span, Jefferson remains ultra-productive and opens up the field immensely for his fellow pass-catchers and the running game.
Meanwhile, the only edge Brown, whose double-team rate was slightly over 18% from 2022 to 2023, had over Jefferson by PFF’s metrics is his grade against single coverage.
Overall, PFF seems to have snubbed the receiver position in this year’s rankings after putting two receivers in its 2024 top 10.
Regardless, Jefferson’s impact remains unrivaled and unwavering.
Justin Jefferson Should Have a Carte Blanche at WR
PFF isn’t the only outlet to snub Jefferson this season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler consulted NFL executives, coaches and scouts for the site’s top-10 wide receiver rankings, which saw Ja’Marr Chase claim the No. 1 rank over Jefferson.
Nick Wright of “First Things First” came to the defense of Jefferson, arguing that the No. 1 receiver spot should not be up for debate.
“I thought this was one of the positions that we didn’t argue about,” Wright said on July 17. “That it was, the way Mahomes should and was talked about a couple years ago, the debate starts at No. 2.
“Even though Ja’Marr Chase won the receiving triple crown last year, I thought everybody understood, the best guy in the league is Justin Jefferson, who’s never had a great quarterback,” Wright added. “You look at it as: Sam Darnold won 14 games. I look at it as: Justin Jefferson carried them when he’s there. He averages more yards per game than any player in the history of the league.”
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