Despite his numbers being lower than ideal with the Minnesota Vikings last season, Justin Jefferson is still arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL heading into the 2026 campaign.
Well, don't tell this to Detroit Lions pass-catcher Amon-Ra St. Brown, who recently made the claim that he's better than Jefferson without even saying a single word in a recent interview with B/R Gridiron.
Asking @amonra_stbrown to stay quiet until he hears a WR better than him 🤐 pic.twitter.com/cTxC6EfQu2
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) June 5, 2026
Amon-Ra St. Brown is out of his mind if he thinks he's better then Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
In the video, St. Brown is asked to remain quiet until he hears a receiver's name who he believes is better than him.
Despite guys like Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Ja'Marr Chase, A.J. Brown, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba being among the names listed, St. Brown kept quiet the entire time and eventually ended the video by saying, "What kind of guy am I to say someone's better than me?"
Good for the Lions receiver to have confidence in himself, but there seems to be at least a hint of delusion when it comes to the belief he has in his abilities.
And to be totally fair to St. Brown, his total numbers since entering the NFL in 2021 are very close to what Jefferson has been able to accumulate in that same time period.
Detroit's top receiver does have more catches (547 to 491) and touchdown receptions (44 to 35) since 2021, but Jefferson has more receiving yards (7,080 to 6,252) and a higher yards per catch average (14.4 to 11.4) to go along with his shiny NFL Offensive Player of Year award that St. Brown does not have in his trophy case.
Keep in mind, Jefferson has been able to put up his massive numbers despite consistently facing double-coverage from opposing defenses more than any other receiver in the NFL (by a wide margin).
St. Brown also benefits a lot from catching the majority of his targets coming on quick pass plays, which will lead to higher catch totals, and even higher touchdown totals when his offense is near the opposing goal line.
Last season, 56.8 percent of the Lions' No. 1 receiver's targets were from passes that traveled 0-9 yards, according to data from PFF. In that same category, only 35.7 percent of Jefferson's targets in 2025 were from passes that traveled 0-9 yards.
That is a gigantic difference.
Then you jump to intermediate and deep targets (targets from passes that travel at least 10 yards), this is where 50 percent of Jefferson's target share came from last season, while only 34.6 percent of St. Brown's targets in 2025 were from passes that traveled 10 yards or more.
Again, that's a big difference.
But at the same time, this just goes to show how different the skill sets of Jefferson and St. Brown are.
More often than not, Detroit's top receiver is going to try to beat his opponent quickly off the line of scrimmage so that he can catch a short pass from Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Make no mistake, Jefferson is capable of doing this too (see shaking Stephon Gilmore out of his boots in 2022), but because of his size and ability to get open downfield when covered by multiple defenders, Minnesota's offense utilizes him in a much different way.
Bottom line, St. Brown should still be regarded as one of the best receivers in the NFL heading into the 2026 season, but he's not in the league's WR1 conversation, while Jefferson is.
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