It’s been an exciting week for Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
He led the NFC to a win in the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown and he learned that Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is expected to become his next head coach.
Indeed, expectations are now at a high for Jefferson, who’s enthusiastic at the prospect of having an offensive-minded O’Connell leading the way in Minnesota.
“I’ve been watching the Rams offense for a minute now,” Jefferson told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe on Friday amid Pro Bowl festivities. “They get their playmakers the ball. They have some tremendous plays, Cooper Kupp wide open all the time. So, I’m excited for it. This is my first head coach that’s going to be on the offensive side instead of the defensive side, so I’m happy.”
Jefferson’s exploded onto the NFL scene over two phenomenal NFL seasons, tallying 196 receptions for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns while under the umbrella of Mike Zimmer.
The defensive-minded Zimmer was fired and is set to be replaced by O’Connell following the Super Bowl.
In his second season as the Rams offensive coordinator, O’Connell has overseen a unit that boasts Cooper Kupp winning the receiving triple crown and Odell Beckham having reignited his career in the postseason. One can only salivate at the potential of Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
However, Jefferson is cognizant that no matter how phenomenal his first two seasons have been, improvement always lies around the bend.
Jefferson, now a two-time Pro Bowler, fell just 16 yards shy of Randy Moss’ Vikings single-season record as he finished 2021 with 1,616 to Moss’ 2003 tally of 1,632. Overall improvement and taking down Moss’ record are for the taking as Jefferson looks to his third season and first under O’Connell.
“Just getting better, working on my craft," Jefferson said. "I can get better at anything. I can get better at everything really. There’s always things for me to improve on, things for me to work on. I’m just going to keep going, man. Always find that new goal to try to reach and keep going. I still didn’t beat that record yet, so next year the goal is to beat the record.”