It was Aug. 31, 10 days before the Vikings' opener against the Buccaneers at U.S. Bank Stadium, and a certain unanimous first-team All-Pro receiver with a catchy touchdown celebration sat down with the Star Tribune to discuss four topics for his fourth NFL season: an obsession with becoming the best ever, an unhurried patience before a likely historic payday, a connection with Kirk Cousins that's "come a long way," and what it takes to keep cocky cornerbacks from getting inside the head of a player who's become a face of the NFL. Here's what Justin Jefferson had to say.
Justin Jefferson: 'I want to be the best out of everyone'
Ahead of the fourth season of his record-breaking NFL career, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson talked with the Star Tribune's Mark Craig about his goals, his contract, his quarterback and his competition.
September 7, 2023 at 3:01PM
On his goals:
Why in the world is Jefferson working harder at 24 than he did as a 23-year-old who led the league in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) while garnering Offensive Player of the Year and a top-five MVP finish?
"I am aware of my talent," he says. "But I'm also aware of my potential."
Which is?
"To be the best out of everyone," Jefferson said before emphasizing that everyone means, "Everyone. "
That's why the guy with more receiving yards through three seasons (4,825) than anyone in NFL history obsesses over what he calls "weaknesses" or "holes" in his game. Things like route depth precision, the exact speed needed to sync his timing with Cousins, the footwork and hand placements needed to defeat all those press corners who come armed with confidence and safety help over the top.
"I get a lot of hard-press corners who are playing me with double-team help," Jefferson said. "But just because teams are doubling me doesn't mean I should be out of the play. I've worked a lot [this offseason] on making myself available in those reads, and that means making sure those hard-press corners aren't getting their hands on me."
Cousins thought of Jefferson last month while watching a 30-minute interview on YouTube with Jerry Rice — Hall of Famer, G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) among receivers and a dude who posted a then-record 1,848 yards receiving at 33 and played until he was 42.
"With all due respect to Jerry Rice, it was borderline paranoia to get better," Cousins said of Rice's drive. "I sent it to Justin and K.J. [Osborn] to say, 'This is what greatness looks like.' "
J.J.'s way ahead of you, Kirk. He's been studying Rice, Randy Moss and Cris Carter — "The three greatest receivers to do it," he says — for years. He also studies Davante Adams, Odell Beckham Jr., Stefon Diggs and "too many other great receivers in today's game to name."
"I got a lot of similarities to the great ones who have played, but there's way more that I have to accomplish first," Jefferson said of any comparisons. "The stats and all that will come by the way I'm playing for years and years to come."
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The only goal Jefferson wants to share publicly for this season is "winning the Super Bowl." As for the individual numbers, he prefers to "keep them in the back of my head."
Like breaking Calvin Johnson's record 1,964 yards and becoming the first 2,000-yard receiver in league history?
"I feel like it's doable," Jefferson shrugged.
Jefferson's 1,809 yards on a 13-win team a year ago earned him 55 points and fifth place in the Associated Press' MVP voting. AP has been picking the league-recognized MVP since 1957. A receiver has never won.
So, Justin, can you?
"I feel like it's doable," he shrugged again. "I feel I've opened a couple people's eyes."
On his contract:
The interview reached the point in which Jefferson's place as the 65th highest-paid receiver in the league and second-highest paid on his own team had to be addressed.
Sorry, Justin, but do you have to be the highest-paid receiver in NFL history?
"Time will tell," he said with an uncomfortable chuckle.
But is it important for you to hold that title, to break the record $30 million a year Tyreek Hill got from the Dolphins last year?
"I don't think it's the most important thing," he said with another uncomfortable laugh. "But it is what it is at the end of the day. My agent and the Vikings are having conversations about that. My job is to play football. Have a smile on my face every day. Have the work ethic I have every single day and lead this team because I want to be a role model and a person people look up to, especially on this team.
"I know the better I play, the more money I get."
Jefferson is in the fourth year of his rookie contract. The Vikings have picked up the fifth-year option that comes with players drafted in the first round. Currently, Jefferson's contract averages $3,280,702 per season. Not only does that rank 65th in the league among receivers, according to overthecap.com, it also ranks two spots below Vikings rookie Jordan Addison's $3,432,934 per season.
Jefferson doesn't have to look far for examples of players who got paid after staging what was believed to be "hold-ins." This summer, Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter forced a one-year, $20 million deal while teammate T.J. Hockenson got a record-breaking deal for NFL tight ends.
Asked why he didn't "hold-in" to pressure the Vikings while guarding against injury, Jefferson said: "Well, early in my life I had to realize that patience is key. I know my worth and I know that the money is going to come with the play, so I'll just let my play do the talking and let everything else fall in place.
"There's only so many things I can control. And I can control what I do on the field."
For the first time at any level of football, Jefferson was named a captain in a vote by teammates this year. He says he doesn't take the role lightly.
"It's an all-time great feeling representing your team, carrying that 'C' on your chest with your family name," he said. "You want to lead by example, lead vocally, lead everything."
Asked if how he's handling his contract situation is an example of the leadership he's talking about, Jefferson said: "I feel I'm handling my contract very professional. I'm still handling my business, still being here for my team."
"I'm going to continue to be myself," he added, "and continue playing a sport I've always loved to play since I was 7 years old."
On his quarterback:
Jefferson smiled when asked about a verbally colorful moment he had with Cousins at U.S. Bank Stadium on Dec. 20, 2020.
"That was a crazy time," Jefferson recalled when reminded of his heated reaction to Cousins throwing high to avoid an interception while targeting him in the end zone against the Bears.
The pandemic was in full swing, emptying stadiums of fans while filling our ears with pretty much anything the players said above a whisper.
"People could hear everything," Jefferson said. "Things that are typically said all the time, but nobody ever hears."
Cousins was pressured to his left on second-and-goal from the 6 while trailing Chicago 20-7 late in the first half. Jefferson was doubled but had a shorter corner covering him. After the ball was fired too high, Jefferson cut loose a cuss word before yelling, "C'mon, Kirk! Throw the ball!"
"That definitely wasn't something I wanted to come out with because it wasn't really a frustration toward Kirk," Jefferson said. "It was just trying to be a key role in the game and feeling like I'm open so get the ball in my hands and win the game. We've definitely come a long way from then to now."
Jefferson's receptions have increased from 88 to 108 to 128 while his yardage totals have gone from 1,400 to 1,616 to 1,809. Cousins didn't have his best statistical season in 2022, but he might have played the position better than he ever has with an NFL-record tying eight game-winning drives in a 13-win season.
Part of Cousins' evolution was giving Jefferson more chances on 50-50 balls. None more famous than Jefferson's one-handed grab on fourth down at Buffalo.
"The more we play with each other the better it gets," Jefferson said.
Developing a connection off the field with a teammate 11 years older also matters, he added. That's why their lockers are next to each other.
"It's about being dialed in with your quarterback," Jefferson said. "It's good to learn about someone who's not in your same generation, not liking the same things you typically like."
No connection is ever perfect, of course. Example: The last offensive snap of the 2022 season. A desperation fourth-down play in which Cousins threw under pressure to Hockenson short of the first-down marker rather than target Jefferson in the closing seconds of the playoff loss to the Giants.
"I ran a corner route and was getting double-teamed," Jefferson said. "That's why Kirk really didn't throw that ball. So it's a tough situation. We fell short."
Jefferson said they'll regroup. Like he and Cousins did during that 2020 Bears game.
"Kirk said back then, 'I didn't have time, but we'll come back to that play,' " Jefferson said. "It's all about having that trust in one another and moving on to the next play."
On chatty cornerbacks:
Jefferson said the Vikings would need to win a Super Bowl for him to even be considered THE face of the NFL. As for becoming ONE of the faces of the NFL — somewhere in the pack of superstars a notch below Mahomes perhaps — Jefferson is living what he said he "always dreamt of growing up" in St. Rose, La.
Possibly the only downside is the giant bull's-eye he carries into every game as each cornerback raises his game and his gamesmanship in hopes of lowering the boom on the league's best receiver and its most popular celebration, the Griddy.
Speaking of Jaire Alexander, what are your thoughts on the Packers cornerback, Mr. Jefferson?
"He's always trying to get inside my head," Jefferson said. "Just like everybody else."
Did Alexander succeed on Jan. 1 at Lambeau Field? (See: One catch for 15 yards in a 41-17 loss that essentially sunk the Vikings' chances at the NFC's No. 1 seed, Kevin O'Connell's run as coach of the year and Jefferson's dark-horse MVP campaign).
"I never let any corner get inside my head," Jefferson said. "I have two older brothers [Jordan, 32, and Rickey, 27] that I've been through growing up that told me everything I needed to hear" when it came to tough love and trash-talking.
Alexander stoked the rivalry in the offseason, saying Jefferson's nine-catch, 184-yard, two-TD explosion against the Packers in a Week 1 rout last year was "a fluke." He also gloated about his Griddy celebration over a fallen Jefferson after breaking up a pass in the first quarter in Green Bay.
Jefferson fired back saying there's no such thing as a 184-yard fluke, challenging Alexander to play him without the safety help he had at Lambeau, and adding, "Nobody's really worried about Jaire."
Might such banter with Alexander or any other opponent become an unwanted distraction, J.J.?
Nah, he said.
"You just got to go out and play football," he said. "His job is trying to get me out of my game. For me, it's all about being true to yourself, still having that confidence in yourself, having that swagger on the field. I've always been doubted in my career."
Always might be a stretch. But the guy did watch four receivers, including former teammate Jalen Reagor, get drafted ahead of him in 2020.
"The [target] on me now, I feel that's going to come with being named one of the top receivers in the league," Jefferson said. "You're always going to have people compare themselves who think they're better. As long as I'm confident in myself and everybody else on this team is confident in me also, I'm confident I'll go out there and have a great season against anybody."
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
