Maxxcash Justin Jefferson didn’t just join elite company during the season debut of Thursday Night Football. He’s added to the Minnesota Vikings‘ representation for this mark — the 5,000-yard club.
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Justin Jefferson Now With Randy Moss in New Historic Accomplishment
By surpassing the 5,000-yard career mark, the 24-year-old Jefferson has now hit a mark that a previous receiving legend for the Vikings hit before the age of 25 in Randy Moss.
Now, both are in the league history books.
The only players in NFL history with 5,000+ career receiving yards prior to turning age 25:
Justin Jefferson
Randy Moss pic.twitter.com/ODXEjlc3TV— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2023
And with surpassing that yardage mark, Jefferson has now gone past one other legendary wide receiver in Lance Alworth for fewest number of games needed to hit 5,000.
5,000 career receiving yards for Justin Jefferson ✈️
He has now tied Hall of Famer Lance Alworth for the fewest number of games needed to reach this mark (52) 🔥@Vikings | #Skol pic.twitter.com/72fHNQ7Is1
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) September 15, 2023
The Vikings’ X account then posted this graphic to honor their star wideout and his newest accomplishment in just his fourth season in the league.
Fastest to 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/C1piMrKEL0
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 15, 2023
How Much Did Jefferson Need to Hit 5K Mark?
Jefferson entered the game needing only 25 receiving yards to officially join the 5,000-yard club. In all three of his seasons, he’s surpassed the 1,000-yard mark.
And every season, his numbers have witnessed an incline:
Rookie year of 2020: 1,400 yards.
Second season in 2021: Bumped his number to 1,616 yards.
Third season in the league in 2022: Increased that number to a career-high 1,809 yards.
Jefferson’s Journey Includes Being Under-Recruited
While he starred at traditional college football powerhouse LSU down in the Southeastern Conference, he wasn’t even considered the most prized recruit signing for the Tigers’ 2017 class.
MORE: Best Wide Receivers in the NFL 2023
That’s because Taylor Rooks of Amazon Prime helped get Jefferson to take a stroll down memory lane: Jefferson was a two-star recruit and the nation’s 308th-ranked wideout his senior year.
Rooks even asked Jefferson as they watched his prep film from his days in Destrehan, Louisiana, if he knew back then he would become the wideout he is now.
“At this point, I knew I was going to be good,” Jefferson began. “But superstar? Definitely not. But, I definitely liked being under the radar.”
He’s no longer under the radar. He’s now in an exclusive club with an NFL Hall of Famer in not even five seasons in the league.
