After a slow start to the 2025 NFL season, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has finally hit his stride. Moreover, the LSU product has exploded in his last two games, posting over 100 receiving yards in each outing.
Jefferson has benefited from veteran quarterback Carson Wentz taking over under center from the injured J.J. McCarthy. Nonetheless, the 26-year-old adapting to a new quarterback shouldn’t be surprising.
Throughout his NFL career, Jefferson has consistently put up impressive numbers no matter who’s throwing him the football. On a recent appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald explained why Jefferson is his favorite receiver to watch in the league.
“I think Justin Jefferson, to me, what he’s been able to do, and I think Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson are like neck and neck, right?” Fitzgerald said. “But Ja’Marr has had the luxury of having somebody who’s in the conversation of MVP, quality player at quarterback, and Joe Burrow his entire career. Justin has done it with Sam Darnold. He’s done it with J.J. McCarthy. He’s done it with Kirk Cousins. He’s done it with a lot of different players, and his numbers never change.
“I think that’s truly a testament to being the best player on the field. Everybody’s keying on you. Every defense, every coordinator, everybody’s aware of where you are. You’re still able to go out there and make play after play after play. And getting to know him, he lives in Minnesota. I’m a Minnesota guy. He’s so humble; he’s down to earth. He’s engaging. He just stands for all the right things.”
Who Will Be the Starting QB for Week 7?
The question heading into Week 7 will be who will pass the ball to Jefferson? O’Connell confirmed that Carson Wentz and McCarthy “will get reps” this week. Still, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t willing to commit to one quarterback just yet heading into the game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I think the big thing is just getting him back on the grass in uniform practicing,” O’Connell said (h/t Pro Football Talk). “Getting real live reps of a pass rush and, you know, taking drops and applying some of the things that he’s worked really hard on as of late as he’s kind of gotten to that phase of his rehab, applying it, and then when he does that, you know, instant dialogue about what he’s able to do and what it felt like and, ‘Hey, let’s log that away. ‘ And then if he doesn’t, the same thing.
“It’s, you know, it’s going to be — I’m having a blast kind of coaching him. It started kind of last week when he was able to really start ramping up a little bit as he gets there and, you know, that one-on-one work, and then obviously the work he does with [quarterbacks coach] Josh [McCown] and [assistant quarterbacks coach] Jordan [Traylor] is going to be critical.”
Will J.J. McCarthy Be Starting for Vikings?
As McCarthy nears his return, the pressing question is when the Vikings will hand him back the starting role. Heading into Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles, McCarthy dodged the question, leaving it unclear whether he’s holding back or truly uncertain about when he’ll be back under center.
“I really don’t know,“ McCarthy recently told reporters. “At the end of the day, I don’t know what I’m having for dinner tonight. So, I just try to stay moment by moment, but I trust that they’re going to do the best thing possible for this team and for the longevity of my career.”
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