Pat McAfee Walks Back Disrespecting Vikings’ Justin Jefferson After Backlash

NFL personality Pat McAfee caught the ire of Minnesota Vikings fans for a recent riff that dealt Justin Jefferson some disrespect.

On Wednesday, June 27, McAfee was building up recently released running back Dalvin Cook and his prospects in free agency. He took it a step too far, saying Cook was the reason Jefferson has all the accolades so far in his career.

“Dalvin Cook was their offense,” McAfee said on his show. “The reason why I think Justin Jefferson has all the thing is because Dalvin Cook’s in the backfield. Now, [Alexander] Mattison’s going to have to earn that same type of respect from defenses, and I assume he will. … But damn, if you’re a team that can pick up that respect in the box from one signing of a guy, that feels like an easy decision.”

While McAfee’s point, that Cook is still a great player, is there, he overlooked the fact that the Vikings’ running game was inefficient last season. Minnesota threw the ball on 67% of plays, the third-highest rate in the league. Every opponent knew where the ball was going.

McAfee saw immense backlash from Vikings fans on social media, leading him to clear the air on Thursday’s show.

“I have to talk to the Minnesota Vikings fans,” McAfee said. “I said while breaking down Dalvin Cook, I said he helps Justin Jefferson. I don’t know how I said it, I must’ve said it in a way — I haven’t listened to it back, so that’s 100% on me. Vikings fans were f****** attacking me, coming after me. I have massive respect for Justin Jefferson. I never said anything about Justin Jefferson not being incredible. I’m just talking about fundamentally, whenever there is a star missing from the field, that is going to change the way a defense looks at the whole thing.”

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Vikings WR Justin Jefferson’s Monster Numbers Without Dalvin Cook

While McAfee backpedaled on his original take, it’s worth exploring what Jefferson’s production has been like without Cook in the backfield.

In the six games Cook missed in 2020 and 2021, Jefferson posted 53 catches for 839 yards and four touchdowns. Extrapolated over a 17-game season, that’s 150 catches for 2,377 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cook didn’t miss a game in 2022, when Jefferson began to see more double and bracketed coverage on his side of the field.

However, this upcoming season, Jefferson’s supporting cast of pass catchers — especially first-round rookie Jordan Addison — are expected to draw attention away from him.

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Vikings Rookie Jordan Addison Should Take Pressure Off Justin Jefferson

Coming off the 2021 season, Addison won the Biletnikoff Trophy primarily as a slot receiver and evolved his game his senior season at USC, seeing 63% of his targets when lined up outside, according to The 33rd Team.

Although Addison lacks the size and speed to be a go-route, deep-ball threat, he excels at maintaining the same speed coming in and out of his breaks. The two routes he was most effective running at USC were the corner and post routes, which the Vikings deployed more often than the league average.

“Addison’s addition means the team has even more options to move the ball downfield effectively,” The 33rd Team’s Jordan Vanek wrote. “Addison’s college experience as a successful route runner on these two routes bodes well for him to become a deep-threat player in the Vikings’ offense.”

Addison has already proved he can win in the slot and his ability to win deep last season at USC shows that teams will have to respect his side of the field at all three levels and attract more coverage away from Jefferson.

“Addison played in the slot and out wide during his college years. This bodes well for how the O’Connell system will utilize him, and it gives the Vikings a player that can win effectively on these routes that require you not to lose speed in and out of breaks,” Vanek wrote. “Jefferson gets a player that allows him to work more freely and possibly avoid double coverage.”

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