At LSU, receiver Justin Jefferson was a major part of the Tigers’ 2019 championship team and a history-making season by quarterback Joe Burrow, posting a stat line of 1,540 yards and 17 TDs on 115 receptions. Now in his first year with the Minnesota Vikings, Jefferson is part of history again.
After amassing 1,400 yards with 7 TDs on 88 receptions in 2020, the Vikings’ star receiver was rewarded for his amazing rookie season by being named to the Associated Press NFL All-Pro team. Jefferson selection to the second team, along with the Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins, the Falcons’ Calvin Ridley, the Seahawks’ DK Metcalf, and the Bills’ Cole Beasley, also added him to the NFL history books as he set the rookie record for receiving yards in the Super Bowl era, besting the Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin who had 1,377 yards and 8 TDs on 101 receptions in 2008. The NFL record for receiving yards in a rookie season is 1,473, set by Bill Groman of the AFL’s Houston Oilers in 1960, so Jefferson was only 74 yards from breaking a mark that has stood for sixty years.
Jefferson also became the first rookie to make the All-Pro team since Randy Moss did it with the Vikings in 1998. That year, Moss made first-team All-Pro with 1,313 yards and a ridiculous 17 TDs on only 69 receptions.
While Tyreek Hill and Tyler Lockett also made the All-Pro team in their rookie seasons, they did so as returners. The last true rookie wide receiver to make the All-Pro team before Moss in 1998 was, according to CBSSports.com, the Steelers’ Louis Lipps in 1984.
Jefferson finished fourth in receiving yards behind the Bills’ Stefon Diggs (1,535), the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (1,416) and Hopkins (1,417).
After looking at who Jefferson finished behind and who he shares company with, it’s easy to understand why he made the All-Pro team as a rookie and why he has a bright future ahead of him.
