After the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-25 win over the New Orleans Saints in London two years ago, a reporter asked Justin Jefferson about the large jet on his necklace. “Was that airplane chain purposeful for this trip?” the English reporter asked, ostensibly referencing the eight-hour flight from Minneapolis to London.
“No, I always wear this,” Jefferson said as he reached for the necklace to give the English media a better look. “Because my nickname is Jets, so I got my jet. I got my little stars, you know? We’re flying in space.”
The NFL is putting regular-season games in Europe and going worldwide to grow the game, but Jefferson has higher aspirations. He wants his otherworldly play to leave opposing cornerbacks in his afterburners. And he has. Jefferson has tallied 5,899 yards and made three Pro Bowls in his first four seasons. He broke Randy Moss’ rookie receiving record and passed him for most receiving yards in franchise history in his third season.
In 2022, Jefferson led the league with 128 receptions and 1809 yards, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors two years after being the runner-up to Justin Herbert for Rookie of the Year. Jefferson isn’t in the first episode of Netflix’s Receiver docuseries, but the second episode opens with him showing his jewelry cabinet to the camera.
Jefferson signed a four-year, $140 million extension in the offseason, but he said he doesn’t spend money on anything that isn’t meaningful to him. Usually calm and reticent, “Jets” represents Jefferson’s alter ego. In Receiver, he says he’s Justin until he puts on his jewelry and sunglasses.
“Justin is cool, calm and collected. I’m chill, I play video games and be to myself a majority of the time. But when I start putting these chains on, start putting the teeth in and all of the jewelry and all of that, I mean, then it starts to become Jets,” Jefferson told the Netflix crew. “Jets is the most confident. That’s my swagger. Not cocky, but he has the confidence in himself to go out there and perform at the highest ability. I like looking good while I go play.”
Not everyone who plays Call of Duty and Madden can churn out video game numbers on the field. However, Jefferson has challenged Moss’ supremacy as the best wideout in franchise history. Receiver documents how Jefferson went from a zero-star recruit at LSU, where his brother Jordan had played quarterback, to one of the league’s best receivers. It’s a Clark Kent moment for a taciturn kid from suburban New Orleans who has become a worldwide sensation.
Jefferson has earned global acclaim in his first four seasons but remains grounded in his bayou roots. In Receiver, Jefferson explains why he started doing “The Griddy” after scoring touchdowns. Jefferson didn’t play much as a freshman at LSU. However, during his sophomore season, his mother, Elaine, encouraged him to do something different the first time he scored.
In honor of Louisiana rapper Allen Davis, who is friends with Jefferson’s LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, he started doing The Griddy in the end zone. In Receiver, Jefferson admits that he thought the officials might penalize him for doing the dance. But they let it pass, and the dance has become a national sensation. Players around the league “hit The Griddy” when they score, including some who probably shouldn’t. The popular video game Fortnite eventually added the dance into the game.
Jefferson is breaking the receiver mold on and off the field. As he has re-written the record books, he has repeatedly insisted that he isn’t a diva. On the field, Jefferson creates separation from opposing corners with precise route-running and demands the ball. Off of it, he spends more time talking up his teammates than discussing his accomplishments. He has become a leader in the locker room and will help usher J.J. McCarthy into his role as Minnesota’s next franchise quarterback.
Kirk Cousins starred in Netflix’s Quarterback show last year, and he appears multiple times to speak about Jefferson’s receiving prowess on Receiver. There’s a moment early in the second episode where we see Cousins in all his goober dad glory, trying to pump Jefferson up in the tunnel. “Here we go, Jets,” he says in his Midwestern accent. “Go get ‘em, baby. Have fun. Let’s compete and fight.”
However, Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason, and Jefferson will be without him for the first time in his career. Jefferson recently told Rich Eisen that he’s “not mad” at Cousins for signing a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta, understanding that football is a business. Cousins was an imperfect quarterback, but he reliably got Jefferson the ball.
After hamstring and chest injuries limited him to ten games, Jefferson will rely on Sam Darnold and possibly McCarthy to help him elevate his game to the next level. As Moss says at the beginning of Receiver, catching the ball is only part of the wideout’s job. He must also create separation and put himself in position to move the chains or score. Ultimately, the quarterback must throw him the ball. Therefore, Jefferson enters next season with much uncertainty.
He will likely perform regardless of who the Vikings will have under center. Jefferson had over 1,000 yards last year, even though he missed half the season and Cousins got injured in Week 8. He also had 3,000 yards receiving in his first two years under Zimmer, and Kevin O’Connell’s Sean McVay-inspired offense has unlocked another level in his game.
Jefferson creates his own gravity and separates himself from corners with enough speed to break the sound barrier. He may be a quiet kid from The Big Easy, but everyone knows “Jets” because of his accomplishments in the NFL. The Vikings will play in Tottenham Stadium again this year, and odds are nobody will ask him what his chain means on this trip.
