Only Justin Jefferson could score in triple coverage.
Justin Jefferson grew up in Louisiana before attending college at LSU. Jefferson teamed up with Joe Burrow and Ja’Mar Chase on one of the most explosive offenses in recent history at the college level, and it powered the Tigers to a national championship run. The Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and since then Jefferson has essentially been battling Chase for the title of best wide receiver alive.
On Sunday, Jefferson got the chance to play a game in the state he grew up in as the Vikings traveled to face the New Orleans Saints. Jefferson had this game circled on his calendar, and he ended up making one of the most spectacular plays of the week. The Vikings won again, beating the Saints 23-13, to move to a shocking 5-0 on the season.
The Vikings took the lead in the third quarter with Jefferson’s touchdown catch. He was triple covered in the end zone when Kyler Murray lofted him the ball, but he somehow still came down with it. How many receivers in the league are really beating triple coverage to score? It might just be Jefferson. Watch the play here:
Here’s another angle. New Orleans legitimately had two guys tracking him with safety help over the top, and still couldn’t stop Jefferson. His ability to beat press coverage off the line of scrimmage is so hard to stop, and Murray got just enough air under this ball to allow Jefferson to pluck it for the touchdown.
Jefferson is never going to put up the same numbers as the best receivers in the league — like Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — because the Vikings just have too many questions at quarterback. In terms of pure talent, though, Jefferson still has a case to be the best wide out in the league.
The Vikings are fully relying on their defense to fuel this 5-0 run. Brian Flores is a demon, and he’s way overqualified to be a defensive coordinator. Part of the reason the Vikings are so scary is because they still have Jefferson even if their offense isn’t exactly a world beater. Just throw it up in triple coverage, and he’ll probably come down with it.