Make no mistake about it, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the National Football League.
Now, if you want to argue that Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase is the only one you can potentially argue to be better with an argument that makes sense. The crazy thing about Chase and Jefferson being the top two wide receivers is that they played on the same college team together at LSU, and won a national championship.
Justin Jefferson showed major disrespect
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler continued his rankings series, where he interviews multiple NFL executives, coaches, and personnel. They ranked Jefferson second, which is wrong, but objectively fine to have him one spot below Chase. However, it's that his lowest ranking was fourth.
In what universe is Jefferson the fourth-best wide receiver? Let's try to understand how that could happen by using the words of the executives quoted in the piece.
"He's the best route runner and probably has the best hands," an AFC executive said. "The way he gets in and out of his breaks and uses his body to maneuver, it's just really hard to get a handle on."
"No wonder why Aaron Rodgers wanted to play [in Minnesota]," an AFC scout said. "He would get one of the best playcallers [Kevin O'Connell], he plays in a dome and he gets Jefferson."
Added an NFL personnel evaluator: "He gets open more than anyone. That's the separator."
The words "he's the best route runner and probably has the best hands" are arguably the two most important things that a wide receiver can possess. He also, as noted by Fowler, has the most 100+ yard receiving game since he came into the league with 34 of said games.
One thing that wasn't even mentioned is the multitude of NFL records that Jefferson holds:
- Most receiving yards through two years
- Most receiving yards through three years
- Most receiving yards through four years
- Most receiving yards through five years
- Most receiving yards per game at 96.5
Having Jefferson ranking that low is insane on a bunch of levels, and it's kind of absurd that Jefferson is becoming underrated, especially from those in the National Football League.
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