Justin Jefferson landed at No. 8 on Pete Prisco’s annual top-100 NFL players list on Thursday, keeping the Minnesota Vikings receiver in the top 10 even after what was described as the worst season of his career. He was also the only Viking on the list.
Jefferson Still Sits In Top 10
Prisco said Jefferson was hurt by poor quarterback play last year, but still called him the most talented receiver in the game. He also pointed to 84 catches and only two touchdowns last season, then added that Kyler Murray should help Jefferson’s numbers this year.
That ranking lines up with Jefferson’s Week 18 finish, when he posted his third 100-yard game of the 2025 season and extended his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to six. Even in a down year, the production stayed high enough to keep him among the NFL’s best players overall.
Leger Douzable Pushes Back
The pushback came right away. Leger Douzable said, “I think it’s too high. I love J.J.... quarterback issues, obviously; J.J. McCarthy really struggled at quarterback.”
Douzable then drew a comparison to Ja'Marr Chase and JSN, saying, “When I look over the last two seasons, and you look at the receivers that are No. 1 and 2 in receiving yards, you have Ja'Marr Chase and JSN [Jaxson Smith-Njigba]. Well, they've had to deal with different quarterbacks, and yet their production is still through the roof.” He also noted that Smith-Njigba has had Geno Smith and Sam Darnold as his quarterbacks.
For Jefferson, the ranking becomes a clean test of how voters separate talent from last season’s box score. The number says top-10 status; the criticism says the gap between his reputation and his 2025 production is still up for debate.
