Three stellar seasons by Justin Jefferson haven’t convinced Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell that the star receiver has reached his full potential.
“As crazy as this sounds, leading the league in yards and receptions, I think he and I have just scratched the surface of where we want to go as an offense, particularly with him as our premier receiver,” O’Connell said this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.
O’Connell, a former NFL QB, calls plays for Minnesota.
Jefferson, the AP Offensive Player of the Year, had 10 100-yard games in O’Connell’s first season as head coach.
In 2022, Jefferson led the league in receiving yards (1,809) and receptions (128) and finished fifth in NFL MVP voting. He has the most receiving yards in NFL history for a player through his first three seasons.
Jefferson’s 1,809 receiving yards in 2022 set a Vikings season record, besting Randy Moss’s 2003 performance (1,632) set in the 16-game era.
Jefferson’s 2022 receiving yardage total puts him sixth on the all-time list for a season, behind Antonio Brown (1,834), Jerry Rice (1,848), Julio Jones (1,871), Cooper Kupp (1,947) and record-holder Calvin Johnson (1,964)
With most of the Vikings starters on offense and the offensive coaching staff returning, Jefferson could have similar success in 2023.
To best Johnson’s record, Jefferson would need to average roughly 116 yards receiving a game over a 17-game regular season.
