5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints – Week 16

Jefferson will pass Moss’ Vikings rookie receiving record

The tremendous rookie season of Justin Jefferson keeps getting accolades and it could continue on Friday in New Orleans. The game against the Saints will be a homecoming of sorts for Jefferson as he starred at LSU and won the 2020 National Title inside the Superdome last January.

While Jefferson has turned in some big performances since then, his matchup against New Orleans cornerback Marcus Lattimore could breed for another big game.

Lattimore has not been the lockdown corner he’s known to be this season as he’s allowing 1.37 yards per coverage snap per Pro Football Focus. With the addition of opposing quarterbacks having a 119.4 passer rating when throwing in his direction, there should be chances for big plays if the Vikings want to take risks on Friday.

Then again, that’s the struggle with Minnesota’s offense. Even though they put up the points, the Vikings usually leave opportunities to become a more explosive offense on the field.

Even though Dalvin Cook has been the centerpiece of the offense, the Vikings may be better off getting the ball to Jefferson over slamming it into New Orleans’ second-ranked run defense according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric.

Minnesota will definitely run the ball no matter what, but they’ll need to figure out a way to get Jefferson involved.