Justin Jefferson disrespectfully snubbed by NFL All-Pro team voters

Despite putting up numbers that were even better than his record-breaking rookie season, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson was not selected as a First-Team All-Pro for the 2021 season.

Heading into this second season with the Minnesota Vikings, Justin Jefferson had a lot of expectations to live up to. So Jefferson went out during the 2021 campaign, and not only lived up to his high expectations, but he exceeded them by a significant amount.

Following Minnesota‘s last game of the 2021 season against the Chicago Bears, Jefferson’s final totals ended up having him rank fourth in the NFL in catches, second in receiving yards, and fifth in receiving touchdowns.

On Friday, the selections for the 2021 All-Pro First-Team were revealed by the Associated Press, and despite his impressive play during the last few months, Jefferson wasn’t among the three receivers who earned the most first-place votes.

Minnesota Vikings star WR Justin Jefferson not selected as a 2021 First-Team All-Pro

When the Associated Press revealed their voting tally for this season’s All-Pro team, three wide receivers from around the NFL ended up getting enough votes to qualify for the First Team. Unfortunately, Jefferson wound up being just one vote short of earning a spot on the All-Pro First-Team.

Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, and Deebo Samuel were the three wide receivers from around the league that ended up getting more votes than Jefferson this year.

It’s hard to argue against the votes for Adams and Kupp when one considers how well they performed during the 2021 campaign. But Jefferson definitely should have earned more votes than Samuel.

While it’s impressive that Samuel was able to be productive when lining up as a running back this season in addition to his duties as a receiver, when it comes down to who performed the best when lining up at the wide receiver position in 2021, Jefferson was better.

During the 2021 regular season, Samuel ranked 26th in catches, fifth in receiving yards, and 25th in receiving touchdowns. There was no reason for him to be selected to the All-Pro First-Team over Jefferson.

But, apparently, the Associated Press voters felt otherwise. Thankfully, Jefferson just got the motivation he needed to step up his play even more in 2022.