Vikings top receivers hilariously disrespected in recent rankings
By Adam Patrick
A recent ranking from Bleacher Report only has Minnesota Vikings receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen listed as the fifth-best receiving duo in the NFL.
During the last two seasons, Minnesota Vikings wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen have combined to score a total of 41 touchdowns. That means of the 69 touchdown passes the Vikings have thrown since the start of the 2020 campaign, Jefferson and Thielen have been on the receiving end of 59.4 percent of them.
With these numbers and the career progression that Jefferson is expected to continue making, one would expect that Minnesota’s dynamic wide receiver duo would be regarded as one of the best in the NFL, if not the absolute best.
However, there are some that believe there are other teams around the league that have a better pass-catching duo at the top of their wide receiver depth chart heading into next season.
Minnesota Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen disrespected in recent Bleacher Report ranking
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine shared who he believes are the five best wide receiver duos heading into the 2022 NFL season.
Jefferson and Thielen made the list, but they didn’t land in a spot where most probably figured they would as Ballentine as them ranked as the fifth-best receiving duo in the NFL.
Ranked ahead of Jefferson and Thielen are Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow of the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 4), Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins (No. 3), Mike Evans and Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 2), and Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 1).
Two of the duos ranked ahead of Jefferson and Thielen haven’t even played in a regular-season game together yet (Adams and Renfrow, Hill and Waddle).
Evans and Godwin are good, but Godwin is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last December, and he probably won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 season. Who is to say he will even return to the field as the same player after recovering from his serious knee injury?
Chase and Higgins being ranked ahead of Jefferson and Thielen is fine. The Bengals duo was very impressive last season and they both have a bright future in the NFL. But at the same time, can they be just as productive in 2022 as they were in 2021?
Ballentine also basically stated that Minnesota‘s wide receiver duo was only included on the list because of Jefferson and that Thielen is “just good enough as a sidekick.” Apparently, catching 24 touchdowns in the last two seasons is now regarded as “just good enough.”