Randy Moss was one of the greatest receivers in the history of the Minnesota Vikings. Justin Jefferson is making a case that he might be even better after he broke one of Moss’ franchise records in Week 11.
In 2002, Moss set the Vikings’ franchise record for most receiving yards by a player in his first five seasons. From his age-21 to age-25 seasons, the Hall of Famer played in all 80 games for Minnesota and recorded 6,743 yards.
Jefferson was positioned to surpass Moss’ mark entering the Vikings’ Week 11 clash with the Tennessee Titans. After Week 10, he had played 69 games through four and a half seasons and tallied 6,730 yards in his career, 13 yards shy of what Moss did in five full seasons.
After catching two passes for nine total yards, Jefferson hauled in a 31-yard completion from quarterback Sam Darnold near the start of the second quarter to break Moss’ record in 10 fewer games.
The fifth-year receiver and former LSU product had previously broken another franchise record set by Moss in 2020 when he recorded the most receiving yards by a Vikings rookie: 1,400. It was 87 yards more than Moss’ 1,313 receiving yards as a rookie in 1998.
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Jefferson can continue adding to his new franchise record in the final seven games of Minnesota’s season.
Justin Jefferson stats
Here are Jefferson’s statistics through his first nine games this year:
Targets: 78
Receptions: 53
Receiving yards: 831
Yards per reception: 15.7
Yards per game: 92.3
Receiving touchdowns: 5
The Vikings’ fifth-year receiver also entered Week 11 as the all-time career leader in receiving yards per game. Here’s how Jefferson’s career stats looked before Sunday’s game:
Targets: 654
Receptions: 445
Receiving yards: 6,730
Yards per reception: 15.1
Yards per game: 97.5
Receiving touchdowns: 35