From the moment Justin Jefferson first stepped onto the field with the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie in 2020, he's been an absolute menace to opposing defenses.
Over the first five years of his career, the LSU alum averaged 99 receptions, 1,486.4 yards, and eight TDs per season, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl, four total All-Pro selections (two First Team, two Second Team), and the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year Award, while also setting new NFL records for the most receiving yards through two, three, four, and five seasons.
The only season in which he didn't earn Pro Bowl or All-Pro accolades was in 2023, when he missed seven games due to injury. And even then, he still surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, catching 68 passes for 1,068 yards with five touchdowns in 10 games.
So, when Jefferson has appeared in each of Minnesota's 13 games during this 2025 season, it certainly doesn't look right when he's only caught 64 passes for 810 yards with two touchdowns and is averaging a career-worst 62.3 yards per game. As one can imagine, fantasy football managers are livid over this, and one can only assume that No. 18 himself is none too pleased either.
But it's not as if Jefferson can be blamed for his lack of production, as the Vikings' quarterback situation has been an absolute mess for most of the season. And at the center of that, of course, is young J.J. McCarthy, who, to his credit, is coming off his best game as a pro but has been wildly inconsistent overall.
Yes, the 22-year-old has only started seven of the team's 13 games, with Carson Wentz starting five and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer starting the other. But McCarthy's inability to stay healthy is a big part of the problem, as it's difficult to develop chemistry with your receivers when you can't play or practice.
Besides, the only two games in which Jefferson hit the 100-yard mark came with Wentz taking the snaps, as he went for 126 yards on 10 catches in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin and 123 yards on seven catches in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns in London. That's roughly 30 percent of his entire season's stats right there.
In the seven games McCarthy has started, Jefferson has averaged four receptions and 47 yards per contest, which obviously isn't ideal.
Minnesota Vikings legend Cris Carter gets honest about Justin Jefferson's struggles in 2025
Legendary Vikings wideout Cris Carter recently discussed Minnesota's struggles with CardPlayer.com's Kyle Odegard, and he's hoping that the more reps McCarthy gets, the better things will get overall.
"Justin Jefferson is having a very, very average season for him, and the reason why is quarterback play. It’s not him. It’s not his ability to get open, and threaten the defense, and make big plays.
So that right there is an issue that needs to be proven out, and the only way it will be proven out is by repetition. That is the only way.
The Vikings are stuck with their quarterback situation, and they’re going to have to keep putting him out there to see if the game will slow down, and if he can vary the velocity on his balls and read defenses on a regular basis."
Carter then stated he'd spoken with Jefferson recently and said he was very proud of how the four-time All-Pro has handled himself.
"I talked to him a couple weeks ago against Chicago, down on the field. He’s hanging in there. He’s a good leader. He’s saying all the right things.
Thank God he’s not in a contract year, trying to prove himself. He’s a proven commodity. So he’s doing all the right stuff, saying all the right stuff, trying to help the young player grow.
But you can’t hide your quarterback in the NFL. I don’t care how good the defense is, how good the running game is. You cannot hide him.
Especially in the NFC North, when you have Jordan Love in Green Bay, Jared Goff in Detroit, and Caleb Williams in Chicago. You need to have good quarterback play to be a playoff team over the next five to eight years."
Jefferson has indeed been supportive of his young quarterback, but following this past Sunday's win over Washington, during which McCarthy completed a career-high 69.6 percent of his passes for 163 yards with a career-best three touchdown passes and zero interceptions (his first turnover-free performance), the sixth-year wideout basically challenged him to continue to play at that same level for the rest of the season.
And that starts this Sunday in primetime when the Vikings visit the Dallas Cowboys, who have surrendered 255.2 passing yards per game this season, the most in the NFL. So, if there were ever a game for Jefferson and McCarthy to break through for a big game together, this is it.