Who did PFF grade as the Vikings best rookie since their inception?
Who did PFF grade as the Vikings best rookie since their inception?
The Minnesota Vikings have had some spectacular rookie campaigns over the past 20 years. Adrian Peterson (2007) and Percy Harvin (2009) each won Offensive Rookie of the Year for their efforts. Yet PFF says another player had the best season of all Vikings rookies since 2006.
Justin Jefferson (90.4 grade in 2020) is the highest-graded Viking rookie in that span. He caught 88 passes for 1,400 yards, a then-rookie record. Jefferson scored seven touchdowns, none more spectacular than his first one, a 71-yarder against the Tennessee Titans that introduced NFL fans to the Griddy.
Jefferson was selected for his first Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro after the 2020 campaign.
Unfortunately, he lost out to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert for Rookie of the Year, but Jefferson still received his accolades. Interestingly, PFF gave Herbert a 79.9 grade as a rookie.
The Vikings selected Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft as part of a trade that sent Pro-Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. Both Jefferson (90.4 PFF overall grade, second) and Diggs (90.2, fourth) ranked in the top five at the position in PFF grade that year, so it was a deal that many considered to be a win-win at the time.
Jefferson ranked third in the league with 36 explosive plays of 15-plus yards and established himself as one of the premier deep threats in the NFL, scoring four touchdowns on targets thrown 20-plus yards down the field in 2020.
The Vikings haven't had many rookies make splashes over the past few years. But if 2025 first-round guard Donovan Jackson somehow overtook Jefferson's 2020 season, the Vikings would be in great shape.
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