Heading into Week 11 of the season, Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson's per-game receiving yards average is at 76.2 per matchup, which is the lowest of his NFL career, and it's not even close.
In addition to Jefferson's low (for him) weekly receiving yard average, he's only caught a total of two touchdowns this year.
The Vikings' No. 1 receiver hasn't pointed fingers at anyone for his struggles this season or anything like that, but he did make it very clear on Thursday with an Instagram story that he shared on his personal account that he's definitely frustrated with how the 2025 campaign has gone for him so far.
Why is Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson struggling this season?
At 26-years-old, it's not like Jefferson is nearing the end of his prime in the NFL, so it's definitely been odd to see his weekly numbers at a level that are more comparable to an average wide receiver this season.
So why hasn't he been putting up the same incredible numbers this year that we've become accustomed to seeing from him during his entire NFL career?
Well, the easy (and most likely) answer is that Jefferson has been impacted by what has been taking place at the quarterback position for Minnesota this season.
Both of his touchdown catches have come in games with J.J. McCarthy starting under center for the Vikings this year. However, Jefferson has only averaged 4.3 catches and 52.3 receiving yards in the four contests that McCarthy has started for Minnesota this season.
Things went a lot differently for Jefferson in the Vikings' five games with Carson Wentz starting at quarterback earlier this season. In those five matchups, Minnesota's All-Pro receiver averaged 6.8 catches and 95.4 receiving yards.
Throughout the majority of his NFL career, Jefferson has caught passes from veteran signal-callers. McCarthy is easily the youngest and most inexperienced quarterback that Jefferson has played with in his tenure with the Vikings.
Jefferson and McCarthy's chemistry just hasn't been where anyone really expected it to be this season. Hopefully, that changes in the next few weeks as they get more time on the field together, but it could also be something that continues for the rest of the 2025 campaign.
We all just have to wait and see, and who knows? Maybe that 2022 version of Jefferson will eventually emerge again to remind everyone why he is still one of the best receivers in the NFL today.