When the Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for the 22nd pick in the 2020 draft, they didn’t know that the player they’d take at 22 would replace Diggs and start breaking Randy Moss’ records.
But that’s what Justin Jefferson has done. In 2020, he broke Moss’ rookie receiving record. Two years later, he surpassed Moss’ team-record 1,632 receiving yards. Moss had 6,743 yards in his first five seasons with Minnesota. In November, Jefferson also broke that record. Jefferson only played 10 games last year due to injury. Still, he passed Moss in Week 11 this year.
On Friday before the Chicago Bears game, a reporter asked Jefferson if he had words of encouragement for Moss. Earlier in the week, Moss, 47, announced he has cancer, which has prevented him from appearing on ESPN. He recently had a successful six-hour surgery and described himself as a cancer survivor.
“I’m definitely grateful to be in the same conversation as a great, somebody that has that gold jacket, a place where I’m trying to get at,” he said. “But to see what he has done and what he meant to me as a little kid and to now be in the same conversations with him and to have my name right next to his is always gonna be something special for me.”
Moss has supported Jefferson since he arrived in Minnesota, and Jefferson frequently pays tribute to him. On Monday Night Football in 2022, Moss broke the news to Jefferson that he had made the Pro Bowl. Earlier this year, Jefferson and Anthony Edwards recreated Moss’ iconic image with Kevin Garnett.
Jefferson says that as a child, he never thought he’d be in the same conversation as Moss.
“That is something that I never, ever thought would happen [as] a little kid,” he said. “You know, you always dreamed of that moment or dreamed of being on this platform and playing in the league, but to actually, you know, live through it and to actually do the things that I’ve been doing, it’s something that you really can’t put words on.
“It’s something that has never been done in the history of the game,” he added. “And for me to do it at the age that I’m doing it at, it’s unbelievable. It’s a blessing.”
It’s admittedly a funny answer. Jefferson said he looked up to Moss as a child, but now he’s breaking his records, which is cool. Still, it’s hard to argue against that. He is breaking Moss’ records, and what receiver doesn’t want to end up in the Hall of Fame? However, it’s a far cry from the standard well-wishes players often offer in times like this.
Still, it’s fitting for someone as competitive as Jefferson. It’s also likely more genuine. Anyone can say what they’re supposed to say. It’s more authentic for him to express a competitive relationship with Moss. I looked up to him. Now, I want to be better than him.
Consider his friendship with Ja’Marr Chase. Jefferson played with Chase at LSU and formed a dynamic offense with Joe Burrow under center. Together, they won a national championship in 2019. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Burrow and Chase, and Burrow leads the league in passing yards. Meanwhile, Chase (1,413) and Jefferson (1,243) are competing to be the league’s best receiver.
“Every person wants to be the No. 1 guy,” Jefferson said recently, prior to the game against Chicago. “For it to be Ja’Marr is always something special for the two guys that played on the same team, that’s No. 1 and 2 in the league. That’s always gonna be special.
“There’s four games left. There’s time for me to still get in that lead,” Jefferson added. “It always will be a competition between us. We always want to be the best.”
Contrast that with what he said about Jaire Alexander before Minnesota’s Week 4 matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
“I really don’t care about the matchup, honestly,” he said. “I feel like he cares more than I do.”
Alexander missed the game with an injury. Still, Jefferson was dismissive of Green Bay’s star cornerback.
He communicates respect through a competitive perspective. Therefore, Jefferson highlights Moss and Chase as competition. He’s trying to have more receiving yards than Chase now so that he can wear a gold jacket like Moss at the end of his career.
Jefferson paid tribute to Moss during the game by forming a heart shape with his hands after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter and screaming, “We love you, Randy!” He also wore a throwback Moss jersey after the game.
“I definitely wanted to give a tribute to him on one of my touchdowns,” said Jefferson, who texted Moss wishing him luck before the surgery. “It was just great to have it done in the first quarter and the first one. Definitely gotta show that love to him.”
Fortunately, he paid tribute on the first touchdown because he dropped the second one. Jefferson was wide open but took his eyes off the ball as he looked toward the end zone. Somewhere, Moss was watching, probably thinking to himself, I would have had that one.
