Justin Jefferson

Justin Jamal Jefferson grew up in St. Rose, Louisiana, and attended Destrehan High School. He competed on offense, defense and special teams, and as a senior wide receiver recorded 44 receptions and nine touchdowns. At age nine, he finished third in the national Punt, Pass and Kick championship.

Football was a family pursuit. His brothers Jordan Jefferson and Rickey Jefferson also played at LSU, while their father, John Jefferson, played college basketball. Justin followed his brothers to LSU after receiving recruiting attention as a high school player.

Jefferson played three seasons for the LSU Tigers under head coach Ed Orgeron. After appearing in two games without a reception as a freshman in 2017, he became LSU's leading receiver in 2018 with 54 catches, 875 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He also contributed to LSU's Fiesta Bowl victory over UCF with 87 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.

His 2019 season established him as one of college football's leading receivers. Playing with quarterback Joe Burrow, Jefferson recorded 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns as LSU finished 15-0 and won the national championship. He caught 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns against Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal, then added nine catches for 106 yards in the championship victory over Clemson. Jefferson entered the 2020 NFL Draft after his junior season.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Jefferson 22nd overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After limited production in his first two games, he broke out in his first start against the Tennessee Titans with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown. He finished his rookie season with 88 receptions, 1,400 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, setting Vikings rookie records for receptions and receiving yards. He earned a Pro Bowl selection, second-team All-Pro honors and a place on the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Jefferson followed with 1,616 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021. In 2022, he led the NFL with 128 receptions and 1,809 receiving yards, added a rushing touchdown, and won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year Award. His fourth-down, one-handed catch against the Buffalo Bills was named the NFL Play of the Year, and his gloves and sleeves from the game were displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A hamstring injury caused Jefferson to miss seven games in 2023, but he still surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth consecutive season. He signed a contract extension with the Vikings in 2024 and then recorded 103 receptions for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro honors and his fourth Pro Bowl selection. In 2025, he finished with 84 receptions for 1,048 yards and two touchdowns, extending his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to six and remaining with Minnesota through the 2028 season.

Jefferson set NFL records for receptions and receiving yards through a player's first three seasons, with 324 catches and 4,825 yards. He also established records for receiving yards through his first four, five and six seasons. In 2024, he became the fastest player to reach 30 career games with at least 100 receiving yards and tied Lance Alworth's mark by reaching 6,000 receiving yards in 62 games.

His 2022 campaign placed him among the most productive wide receivers in league history. The season's 1,809 receiving yards set a Vikings single-season record, as did his 128 receptions, and he became the first Viking to lead the NFL in both categories. In 2025, Jefferson became the youngest player to reach 8,000 career receiving yards and joined Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players with six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin a career.

Jefferson's public profile has also extended beyond game statistics. His signature Griddy celebration became the first dance associated with an NFL player to receive an in-game reference in Fortnite, and he was featured in the Netflix sports docuseries Receiver.