2. Justin Jefferson: It’s all winding down! Eight players have been revealed and two remain! There are so many young stars in the NFL today. From Josh Allen to Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase to Sauce Gardner and Trevor Lawrence. It’s safe to say the league is in great shape for the next decade. Then, there’s this one guy in Minneapolis, Minnesota who wears the number 18. From his LSU days to the NFL, he’s become a star in this league. Justin Jefferson is the final player making his debut on this edition of “Best in The Business”. He’s my second-best player and my top-ranked Wide Receiver entering the 2023 season.
This kid is the real deal. Let’s take it back to March 20th, 2020. The Minnesota Vikings shockingly traded away Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for Buffalo’s first, fifth and sixth round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. With that first round pick, the Vikings selected Justin and since then, it’s been a match made in heaven. They’ve built this offense around him in Minnesota. Since coming into the league, he’s shown he’s the real deal and then some. His route running is amongst the best in the league. Justin is so smooth out the release and it sometimes appears to be effortless. He has a way to move around and make sure the defender is nowhere near him. Justin runs the inside routes and can make those tough catches in traffic. Then, he can run the deep routes down the field. I don’t think there’s a route he can’t run which makes him scary. You give him the slightest amount of space; he’s taking full advantage of it. An underrated aspect of his game is the shiftiness he displays in space. Once that ball hits his hands, he can make you miss in the open field. He can also make acrobatic catches because he has excellent body control which helps him maintain possession of the football and stay in bounds. Justin had his share of highlights this past season. His most memorable one came in a game against the Buffalo Bills back in November. It was 4th and 18, Kirk Cousins dropped back and flung the ball in Justin’s direction. He climbs the ladder and makes an incredible one-handed catch.
Hall of Famer and Vikings great Cris Carter was asked about Justin and gave him some high praise. Cris stated if he can stay healthy and remain consistent, he will be considered the greatest receiver in Vikings franchise history. That’s a huge compliment from an all-time great! 2022 was the year when number 18 showed that he was “HIM” as everyone likes to say. He finished the season with 128 receptions and 1,809 yards receiving, both ranked at the top of league rankings. Justin won Offensive Rookie of the Year. He’s only 23 years old and hasn’t come close to his prime. That’s a scary thought to process.
