NFL Honors: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson claims Offensive Player of the Year
- Harrison Discombe
- 10 February 2023
Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson won the 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second consecutive wide receiver to win the award after Cooper Kupp took home the honour last year.
Jefferson set the record for receiving yards by a rookie in 2020 and has only improved since. Last year saw him fall just 12 yards shy of breaking Randy Moss' Minnesota Vikings single season record (1,632) and this season he caught for the sixth-most yards in NFL history (1,809).
Still only 24, Jefferson had 128 receptions (seventh-most in league history) and eight touchdowns in a campaign that saw him move to within just 610 career yards of Hall of Famer Lynn Swann.
The wideout also had more receiving first downs (80) than any other player, as well as the most plays of twenty or more yards (28).
Next year the star will hope to see his fantastic form translate into the postseason having been bottled up in January for 47 yards on seven receptions against the New York Giants in his first playoff appearance.
Jefferson's historical start to his career is set to be an expensive one for the Vikings with the former LSU receiver set to become eligible for a contract extension this offseason.
After one of the most impressive starts to a career in NFL history, it'll be a surprise if Jefferson is given anything less than the most lucrative wide receiver contract ever.
