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Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famer Randy Moss woke up a happy man on Wednesday.
In response to an absurd take on Twitter, Moss’ claim as the greatest deep-threat wide receiver was once again reinforced.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) senior college football analyst Anthony Treash asserted that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill could be the greatest deep threat in NFL history.
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The backlash surrounding rang from far and wide, not just from Vikings loyalists.
NFL Figures, Fans Come to Moss’ Defense
The Vikings’ official Twitter account responded with the best possible defense of Moss’ reputation as the best deep threat in NFL history.
For those of a younger generation who were not familiar with Moss’ dominance, the Vikings’ video quickly did the trick.
not even a Vikings fan but damn pic.twitter.com/kCiPJOWRbw
— Jon (@fleischmann_jon) May 19, 2021
Treash’s coworkers at PFF quickly remedied the hottest of takes on Twitter Wednesday morning, to which he responded with a bit of sarcasm.
Considering the NFL has progressively changed its rules to give receivers a significant advantage, Moss doing what he did in an era that still favored a physical style of defense adds even more weight to his case as the greatest deep threat of all time.
Not to mention Moss played with a revolving door at quarterback — not a generational quarterback like Patrick Mahomes — during his prime in Minnesota.
ESPN’s Matthew Berry offered his case of what Moss would do in today’s NFL.
Moss changed how teams addressed covering size-and-speed deep threats as the Green Bay Packers opted to draft taller cornerbacks who’d have a fighting chance to keep Moss from fleecing them.
Despite all the in-fighting that occurs within a fan base that remains devoted to the anguish of chasing its first Super Bowl, Vikings fans can agree on one thing.
Even a Chicago Bears fan joined arms in defense of Moss.
Bears fan here, and yeah, NFL fans gotta put aside their differences to defend an all-timr great. There will be NO Randy Moss slander
— Lucas Hunt #ExtendARob (@Masonite22) May 19, 2021
And if the eye test isn’t enough, here are the two wide receivers’ regular-season stats through their first five seasons in the league.
| Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | From | To | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R |
| Randy Moss* | 1998 | 2002 | 80 | 414 | 6743 | 60 | 16.3 |
| Tyreek Hill | 2016 | 2020 | 74 | 368 | 5391 | 47 | 14.6 |
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Vikings Boast Top Wide-Receiver Duo in NFL
One thing PFF did get right on Wednesday was ranking Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson the top wide receiver duo in the NFL. Thielen was ranked the ninth-best receiver, while Jefferson rounded out the top-10 as the only WR pairing in PFF’s latest position rankings.
Here’s PFF’s write-ups for both receivers:
9. ADAM THIELEN, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Thielen bounced back to top-tier form after an injury-hindered 2019 season. He came away from 2020 with an 87.4 PFF grade that ranked sixth among NFL wide receivers, marking the third time in the past four years he has finished inside the top 10 in that metric.
Thielen’s releases and ability to separate are as good as it gets at the position, helping him grade out as a top-five receiver against single coverage since PFF began tracking that metric in 2017.
10. JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Jefferson silenced everyone doubting his NFL potential in a big way as a rookie. He finished the season with an elite 90.5 receiving grade that trailed only Davante Adams for the best in the NFL, and he was just shy of the rookie record set by Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 (91.2). The most impressive aspect of his first NFL season was his performance against single coverage. That was an area of concern when he left LSU because of his role there, but he has undoubtedly proved he can handle those situations.
Jefferson maintains his No. 2 receiving grade rank against single coverage and jumps to first in yards per target (13.2) on such plays. The NFL landscape thought the days of Minnesota having a top receiving tandem were over when the franchise traded away Stefon Diggs in the 2020 offseason, but Jefferson is poised to keep the tradition going.
Here are the receivers PFF ranked above the Vikings duo entering the 2021 season.
- Davante Adam, Green Bay Packers
- DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
- Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
- Allen Robinson II, Chicago Bears
- Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
- A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans
- Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
- Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills