Justin Jefferson Talks 2K Yards, Kirk Cousins, Vikings Contract, More in BR Interview

Three years into his NFL career, Justin Jefferson has already achieved beyond his wildest dreams from an individual perspective.

The Minnesota Vikings’ star receiver is the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year and already has a trio of All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections to his name. Sometime within the next 12 months, he will likely become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, achieving generational wealth and building a borderline Hall of Fame resume before the age of 25.

But ask Jefferson about what he wants to accomplish in his fourth NFL season, it’s all about building camaraderie in the locker room and building to the ultimate goal of capturing a Lombardi Trophy.

“Just being together as a team, having that connection with each other,” Jefferson told Bleacher Report when asked about what he wants to achieve in 2023. “I think back to LSU days when we won the national championship. Our team was just so together, connected with one another. All of us were just best friends. We wanted the best for each other, and we all wanted that one goal to win the national championship. So I feel like we need to have that same mindset—all of us need to connect as one. Have that one goal to reach for—to win a Super Bowl—and then do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

Jefferson spoke to Bleacher Report in conjunction with the NFL’s “Let’s Play” initiative, which the league hopes will spark continued growth of youth flag football. The NFL has increasingly become involved in promoting flag football as an alternative to full-contact youth football, with the aim of growing the game globally and limiting the number of hits taken at a young age.

“We want to spread football all around the world, not just America,” Jefferson said. “The kids, the amount of fun that they’re having, and just the experience as a whole, just learning the game of football without being able to put on those pads, helmets, and having that full contact. I definitely think flag football is definitely up-and-coming and hopefully it can be a worldwide thing one day.”

Flag football is played by over 20 million people in more than 100 countries. It’s fast becoming the greatest source of growth for youth football, particularly in developing areas that do not have access to the padding necessary to play contact football. The NFL revamped the old Pro Bowl format last season in favor of the Pro Bowl Games, a weeklong event that has given the flag game its biggest audience to date.

Jefferson began playing tackle football at the age of 7 and said he wishes a flag alternative would have been available when he was growing up.

That said, it’s impossible to argue with the way Jefferson has developed. The LSU product’s 4,825 career receiving yards are 662 more than any other player in NFL history has recorded through his first three seasons. He’s one of only two players in league history (Michael Thomas) with more than 300 receptions through three seasons.

A year ago, it looked as if Jefferson would become the first receiver in NFL history to top 2,000 yards in a season. He posted 1,756 receiving yards through 15 games but wound up but wound up with a quiet 53 yards combined in his final two games.

“It’s anyone’s goal as a receiver to want to have the most yards ever in the history of the NFL, but I feel like there are way better goals I need to achieve,” Jefferson said when asked if he was disappointed by not reaching the 2,000-yard mark. “Hitting [2,000 yards] would be a dream and you know something that I definitely want to accomplish sometime in my career. But we got to win playoff games, get to the Super Bowl, and that would mean way more to me than just getting the record for the most yards in a season.”

Jefferson’s team-first attitude doesn’t just apply to his counting stats; it’s also apparent when talking about his financial situation. The Vikings have Jefferson under team control through the 2024 campaign after exercising the fifth-year option in his rookie contract, but the overwhelming likelihood is that he will reach a long-term extension sometime within the next year.

That extension will certainly top the $30 million annual average of Tyreek Hill, making Jefferson the highest-paid receiver in NFL history, and should eclipse Aaron Donald’s $31.7 million average salary to make Jetta the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. While some in Jefferson’s situation would be fretting the financials ahead of a pivotal season, the Pro Bowler said his fortunate upbringing has allowed him to focus on his love of the game rather than money.

“I wouldn’t really say it’s an important aspect for me,” Jefferson said of becoming the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. “My parents always had money and I was blessed to be a part of a two-parent household that supported me and pretty much gave me anything I needed in the sports aspect and daily life. So money wasn’t my main need. It’s really all about playing the game that I love, playing the game that I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old. Now it’s to the point of contract talks and being one of the highest paid. That’s a dream that I would love to happen someday, but it’s not my main priority.”

Of course, it’s a lot easier to not worry about finances as a receiver in the modern NFL. Running backs, on the other hand, have found themselves in the crosshairs of front offices looking to limit expenses—particularly as the backs reach their late 20s. The Vikings moved on from Dalvin Cook this offseason in a cap-saving move, and Jefferson said he empathizes with the treatment of running backs.

“It’s tough. It’s definitely a tough situation. Because it’s all running backs,” Jefferson said. “It’s not just our team or just two, three other teams—it’s the majority of the whole league. But it’s a tough situation to deal with, especially in their eyes. That just goes to show you need to be more versatile. They want you to be more involved in the pass game. They want you to be able to run the ball whenever we need to run the ball.

“It’s kind of crazy how it all turns around. Running backs were definitely one of the main priorities that teams wanted to have. Having a good back that we can give the ball to and change defensive minds into stacking a box, being able to throw the ball downfield whenever we need to and play-action passes. Now it’s starting to be more of a pass-first league. So it’s definitely something that’s tough to really think about and deal with—especially in the running backs’ eyes—but I feel like they’ll get it situated sooner or later.”

Jefferson’s quarterback, Kirk Cousins, will also head into the 2023 season facing his own contractual uncertainty. Cousins is an impending free agent and has said he does not plan on having extension talks with the Vikings until next March.

The Cousins-Jefferson pairing has arguably been the most successful in Vikings franchise history, rivaling peak Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss. But despite being selected to consecutive Pro Bowls and consistently putting the Vikings in playoff contention, Cousins remains arguably underrated—particularly for his leadership skills. He brought home the Bart Starr Award for the 2022 season, which spotlights the NFL player who “best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community.”

Jefferson said Cousins’ willingness to be unapologetically himself is what makes him a strong locker-room leader.

“That’s one thing that I like about Kirk: He’s not trying to be someone else. He’s always going to be Kirk,” Jefferson said. “At the end of the day, if you like it or not, if you think it’s corny or not, if you think he’s a dad or not, he’s just going to be himself all the time. But his process and just learning the plays, going over the plays with us and making sure we’re all on the same page is definitely top tier.”

“I was telling somebody I’m glad that they came out with [Netflix’s Quarterback] series on him. Just for people to really see who he really is, see the difficult things that he really goes through week in and week out. It’s not an easy job for anyone. So to be in this league and to have the success that he has already been having—and of course with me being the receiver that I am—he’s the main guy throwing me the ball. It definitely goes to show you that he’s got that fight in him. He got that dog—especially from getting hit all the times that he has and dealing with injuries. But I feel like Kirk is just being Kirk. He’s not really worrying about impressing people. He’s really just trying to win games, ball out on that field, and be a leader for the team.”

The offense surrounding Cousins and Jefferson will look far different this season. Cook will be replaced by longtime backup Alexander Mattison, while KJ Osborn and rookie Jordan Addison will be tasked with replacing the departed Adam Thielen.

Jefferson said the wide receiver room will miss Thielen’s consistent veteran presence, but he expects the explosiveness of Osborn and Addison to make it more difficult for defenses to key on him in 2023.

“KJ has always always been the sleeper. People don’t really focus on KJ as much as they need to,” Jefferson said. “I saw like a week or two ago, they came out with a list of the top [wide receiver] duos in the league and we weren’t top 10. So I sent it to [Osborn] and told him that we gotta prove everybody wrong, we gotta get to work and he agreed. He wants to fill in that role of being that number two guy and being a big part of this offense.”

The Vikings went 13-4 last season and won the NFC North with ease but come into the 2023 campaign underdogs behind the upstart Detroit Lions. Jefferson said the locker room hasn’t focused on exterior motivations but has instead locked in on improving last season’s record and not falling short in the playoffs.

“The season as a whole is motivation for us. Having 13 wins [last season] that’s already a goal. We’re just trying to better that, have way less close games, and hopefully reaching that goal at the end of the season of being a Super Bowl champ.”