Justin Jefferson Once Again Throws Shade at JJ McCarthy and Portrays Himself as the Best WR in NFL

Justin Jefferson dismissed the claims that he is no longer an elite wide receiver despite capping of the 2025 season in a disappointing fashion.

Justin Jefferson Once Again Throws Shade at JJ McCarthy and Portrays Himself as the Best WR in NFL

JJ McCarthy and Justin Jefferson inside the circle (Image via IMAGO)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

The Vikings’ gamble on JJ McCarthy hasn’t paid off, and the clear biggest loser in this experiment is Justin Jefferson. After racking up 1533 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024, his numbers declined to a career low the following year.

He had just over 1,000 yards on 84 catches, which is pretty close to his 2023 season total, but he missed seven games that year due to injury. Jefferson hasn’t had to worry much about the quarterback he’s receiving from, as he primarily relies on his own playmaking skills to rope in the numbers. That said, he still needs to see enough of the ball to create scoring chances.

Technically, it was McCarthy’s second year in the league, but he hadn’t thrown a pass during his rookie year as he recovered from a torn meniscus. Coach Kevin O’Connell still saw enough in the first-round draft pick to hand him the starting QB job.

In the end, McCarthy finished with a 6-4 record, a winning record. However, he completed fewer than 60% of his passes and threw more interceptions compared to touchdowns (11 TDs/12 INTs). Minnesota missed the playoffs and fired the general manager.

Is Justin Jefferson still an elite wide receiver?

McCarthy’s future is in limbo. Even though Jefferson has praised the CFP champion in the past, his view might have changed as the world moves ever so close to Super Bowl LX in California. It makes sense because the critics are challenging Jefferson’s “elite receiver” status. Sure, he’s racked up more receiving yards than any other receiver since entering the league, but the only hardware he’s got to show for it is an Offensive Player of the Year award from 2022, which now feels like a lifetime ago.

Justin Jefferson Once Again Throws Shade at JJ McCarthy and Portrays Himself as the Best WR in NFL
Justin Jefferson (Image via IMAGO)

Unless McCarthy makes rapid improvements or O’Connell stops being stubborn and brings in a Darnold-like QB in 2026, Jefferson’s numbers will probably take a hit again.

Even the 26-year-old subtly hinted at the same in his latest media appearance. Speaking with Nick Wright on FS1’s First Things First, Jefferson made it clear that he hasn’t lost his touch. He just needs a reliable quarterback who can give him the ball.

A lot of people base it on the quarterback play. Just different things that really go into my position. Obviously, I’ve got to rely on, and I got to depend on [JJ] a lot… If I don’t have an elite quarterback that’s throwing me the ball the entire year, then it’s a little bit difficult to be in those conversations. Having a young quarterback that’s still learning the game and still learning his potential in this league, you kind of have those difficult seasons, which I had this past year. I still think that I’m still No. 1.

Justin Jefferson said (H/T: Bleacher Report)

Vikings tried to trade JJ McCarthy

Shocking news surfaced right after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah left the Vikings facility in January. NFL analyst Daniel Rotman reported that McCarthy came close to leaving the Twin Cities ahead of the trade deadline last year.

O’Connell wanted to move in a different direction, but the hire-ups blocked the move. And the team that showed interest was the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Vikings were moments away from trading McCarthy to the Raiders this offseason, but to no avail.

Daniel Rotman wrote in his report

The Raiders traded away a third-round pick to the Seahawks and acquired veteran Geno Smith on a two-year deal. Vegas finished the year with just three wins.

Also Read: