Getting the ball in Justin Jefferson‘s hands is one of the biggest points of emphasis for the offense under Kevin O’Connell. The Minnesota Vikings did so successfully in their season opener against the Green Bay Packers. The result was a career game for Jefferson, who tallied nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns against a stingy Packers defense.
But the Vikings haven’t been as effective offensively in the last two weeks, despite Jefferson’s heavy involvement. If anything, Kirk Cousins‘ attempts at force-feeding Jefferson have caused the offense’s rhythm to falter. Such was the case when the Vikings traveled to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay completely shut Jefferson down the whole game, allowing just one catch on six targets while coming away with two interceptions. Cousins targeted Jefferson 12 times in Week 2, but he only caught six passes for 48 yards and averaged just four yards per target. It just wasn’t a very good game for a Vikings offense that prioritizes getting Jefferson the ball.
To be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with Jefferson being the focal point of the offense. He’s one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL. However, the Vikings have Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn at their disposal, both of whom are talented receivers in their own right.
Still, Thielen and Osborn have largely been afterthoughts, even in situations where they should be involved. Thielen was one of the most efficient WRs in the red zone last season, but Cousins only targeted him three times in the red zone through the first two weeks. Meanwhile, Osborn is averaging roughly three receptions per game.
If the Vikings’ win over the Detroit Lions proved one thing, it’s that good things happen when Thielen and Osborn get involved. Last week, Thielen caught the 50th touchdown pass of his career and his first of the season. Osborn also came up clutch, reeling in two passes on Minnesota’s final drive, one of which was the game-winning touchdown.
The Lions played a lot of Cover 1 and man coverage against the Vikings. On this play, it worked beautifully for Detroit because neither Thielen nor Osborn was able to create significant separation. But unless you have an elite secondary, playing constant man coverage isn’t always sustainable against a team with as many weapons as the Vikings have.
On this play, the Lions are playing Cover 1 again, but this time Irv Smith Jr. can fight through the initial contact and create enough separation to make the catch. Even though Smith has been struggling lately, he can still create mismatches against linebackers. Detroit is living and dying by Cover 1, and that’s one example of how the Vikings exploited the Lions in the coverage.
Of course, none of this happens without Jefferson commanding the defense’s attention. According to O’Connell, there were only eight or nine plays where Jefferson wasn’t double-teamed in some capacity. In the tweet above, we can see how Jefferson running in orbit motion results in an easy touchdown pass to Thielen.
The Vikings travel to London next week to face the New Orleans Saints. Despite their offensive woes, they have a solid defensive unit. Saints head coach Dennis Allen may have a new job title, but he has been calling plays for New Orleans since 2015. The Saints’ defense has plenty of great veteran players, including Cam Jordan, DeMario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu, and, most importantly, Marshon Lattimore.
Lattimore will undoubtedly pose a challenge for Jefferson. Lattimore limited Jefferson to just three receptions for 44 yards the last time the Vikings played the Saints. Yet that pales in comparison to the game Jeff Okudah had against Jefferson last week. Okudah held Jefferson to three receptions for 14 yards on six targets. With three-time All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu now behind Lattimore in coverage, the Saints are well equipped to take away Minnesota’s best player for most of the game.
Even if Cousins isn’t blessing Jefferson with the holy football Sunday morning, his impact will still be felt. O’Connell frequently uses Jefferson as a decoy to dictate coverages, and the attention spent on him should allow Thielen and Osborn to create more separation. If the Vikings continue to spread the ball around, the inverse can also be true. Defenses would have to account for Thielen and Osborn, enabling Jefferson to get more open looks.
The Vikings are once again facing a defense with a bonafide shutdown corner. Obviously, O’Connell wants to get his best player involved, but sometimes it’s smarter to keep using Jefferson as a decoy and distribute the production more evenly. In the long run, increased targets for Thielen and Osborn means more favorable looks for Jefferson.
