3 Vikings franchise records that can be broken in 2022
By Luke Parrish
Justin Jefferson will finally get his single-season receiving record
Standout wide receiver Justin Jefferson was just 17 yards shy of breaking Randy Moss’ single-season receiving record. With an offense-rich coaching staff heading his way, he can top that record in just his third NFL season while also climbing into the franchise’s top 10 for career yards.
Jefferson was on the cusp of catching an all-time great wide receiver in just his second NFL season. Even though he fell short of the record – and the coaching staff slightly took that moment from him by not working the ball to him on the final possession of the season – he still shared some honors with Randy Moss in terms of rookie and sophomore numbers by wide receivers.
Cooper Kupp just put up one of the single greatest seasons in the history of the NFL with Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell getting him in spots to succeed. Justin Jefferson is not the same player as Kupp and their roles will differ, but expect Jefferson to be a vital component of the team’s playcalling in 2022.
To break the record, Jefferson would need to record 96 yards per game. With a career average of 15.4 yards per catch, he would just need about six catches each week to catch Randy Moss. That is a very doable achievement to keep an eye on next season.
If Jefferson does break Moss’ record of 1,632 yards in a season, he will also get into the wheelhouse of Moss’ career mark with the franchise. Hitting that mark next season would put Jefferson at 4,648 receiving yards at the very least. That would rank Jefferson ninth all-time in Vikings history ahead of Stefon Diggs and less than 1,000 yards from eighth place.
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He would be halfway to Moss’ career total and a third of the way to Cris Carter’s top spot in the franchise record books. There is still a lot of work to do for Justin Jefferson but he is on pace to be a top-three wide receiver in the history of the Minnesota Vikings. If he stays for the long run, he can go down as the greatest to ever lace them up in Minnesota.