Justin Jefferson ranks highly on PFF’s list of best players under 25

Pro Football Focus has just released their list of the 25 best NFL players under the age of 25 and, as you’d expect, Minnesota Vikings’ star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is pretty high up on the list.

Jefferson checks in at #5 on the PFF list after two NFL seasons that have seen him accumulate over 3,000 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. Here’s what PFF has to say about his performance:

Jefferson burst onto the scene as a rookie with 1,400 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns, earning an elite 90.4 grade. He followed that up with an even better 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns with another elite 90.1 grade. For him to step on the pro stage and look that dominant out of the gate, then to prove that it was no fluke the following year, solidifies him as one of the best young players in the game, regardless of position.

Despite being the fifth wide receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson has pretty clearly been the star of his class.

It’s pretty hard to argue putting Jefferson ahead of any of the four players that PFF ranked ahead of him on the list: San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs. Perhaps Jefferson can leapfrog that group at some point, but for now it seems like the right spot for him.

Not surprisingly, Jefferson was the only member of the Vikings to make the list. What might come as a bit of a surprise is that he’s one of just two NFC North players that was recognized, along with Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Rashan Gary (#11). A few other NFC North players wound up as honorable mentions, but only Jefferson and Gary made the main list.

Given that Jefferson doesn’t turn 23 for another month or so, he’s going to be on lists like this one for a couple more years. . .as well as on the short list of the best wide receivers in the National Football League.