If you were to ask Justin Jefferson about last season, he would be the first to tell you it did not go as planned. The star wide receiver missed seven games last season due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the Vikings' Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve and did not return until Week 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Due to his absence, the Vikings would miss the postseason, and Jefferson, although having a productive season in the ten games he was able to suit up for, was not able to have the caliber of season he was expecting to have coming into the year.
Because of the games the star wide receiver missed, the NFL and its players ranked Jefferson 18th on this year's top 100 list.
#18 comes in at #️⃣1️⃣8️⃣#NFLTop100 @JJettas2
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 31, 2024
📺: NFL+ pic.twitter.com/nfIgxHKptg
This is a slide from a year ago, when Jefferson came in as the NFL’s second-ranked player, only behind Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately, the hamstring injury forced Jefferson to miss almost half the season, so a lower ranking was expected when the list was announced.
The Vikings star player still racked up an impressive season last year with 68 catches for 1,074 yards and 5 touchdowns, but those numbers are far away from where Jefferson’s numbers were in 2022 when he took home the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award. Still, Jefferson was on pace to meet or surpass those numbers from his 2022 season before the injury derailed his season.
Jefferson is undoubtedly one of the league's best players, and his ranking of 18 is simply a reflection of his injury. If the star playmaker can stay healthy during his 2024 season, it is reasonable to believe his spot back inside the top ten will be there for him upon the list's unveiling next year.
