The Minnesota Vikings struck gold when they drafted Justin Jefferson in 2020. The former first-round pick has just set an NFL record during a game against the Tennessee Titans.
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Jefferson entered Sunday's game with 831 yards on the season and 6,730 in his NFL career. He caught six passes for 81 yards during the matchup, which took him to 6,811 yards. This broke the NFL record for the most receiving yards in a player's first five seasons.
Former St. Louis Rams receiver Torry Holt previously held the record with 6,784 yards in his first five seasons. Former Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss was just ahead of Jefferson on the list with 6,743 yards. Former 49ers star Jerry Rice was behind both Jefferson and Moss with 6,364 yards.
Justin Jefferson is HIM pic.twitter.com/5cuU6MTtl5
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 17, 2024
Moss and Rice are both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Holt has been a finalist multiple times but has yet to hear his name called. If Jefferson maintains his trajectory, he will put himself into the Hall of Fame conversation after retiring.
The astounding part of this record is that Jefferson has not appeared in every game possible since joining the Vikings in 2020.
Jefferson actually missed seven games last season due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain. This kept him on Injured Reserve while the Vikings went 5-2. Once Jefferson returned to the lineup, he began working with multiple quarterbacks as the Vikings tried to replace the injured Kirk Cousins.
While Jefferson missed seven games, he still delivered another 1,000-yard season. He caught 68 of the 100 passes thrown his way and reached 1,074 yards. Jefferson also scored five touchdowns.
This receiving record is not the only milestone moment delivered by Jefferson this season. Back in Week 2, he reached 400 career receptions during a win over the San Francisco 49ers. He also reached 6,000 career receiving yards in what was his 62nd game. This tied Lance Alworth for the fewest number of games to reach the milestone.
Jefferson continues to rise up the active receiving yards leaderboard. He is 24th after Sunday's win over the Titans. He is just behind tight end George Kittle, who enters Sunday with 6,834 yards. Julio Jones leads all active players with 13,703 yards.
