EAGAN, Minn. — Last week, Cam Robinson, the Minnesota Vikings’ left tackle who arrived via trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars in October, sat in a chair near his locker and mulled over a question.
You knew about Justin Jefferson before you got here. What did you not know then that you know now?
Robinson thought for a second. He then laughed so loudly that a nearby teammate peered over.
“I mean,” he said, “it’s hard not to … s—.”
Another audible chuckle and more peeking over from teammates. The question seemed pretty straightforward, but Robinson, an eight-year pro who played at Alabama alongside receivers Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley, was struggling mightily. He started and stopped, almost like he was bashful even to have the opportunity to discuss Jefferson.
“He’s … he’s just unbelievable, bro,” Robinson said.
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Before he arrived in Minnesota, Robinson said, he saw what we all see: Jefferson slithering silkily through defenses, hitting the Griddy after touchdowns. Robinson knew Jefferson as the LSU star, the pregame wearer of cool Oakley shades that make him look like a Spy Kid and one of the distinct young faces of the league.
Robinson had heard a few things through the grapevine, but even players don’t know which perceptions are real and which are legend. Was Jefferson really that committed to the team instead of individual achievements? Did he really blend into the locker room like one of the guys?
Most of the Vikings’ newcomers this season entered with curiosity about the superstar wideout. But their exposure to Jefferson behind the scenes has gone just as advertised, and their impressions now transcend respect. Conversations with 10 newcomers, including quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, paint a revealing picture.
“You feel his joy,” McCown, a quarterback for nine NFL teams over 16 seasons, said.
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These longtime professionals are like casual observers in that they can’t help but gush.
“I thought he was a great player from afar,” veteran defensive back Bobby McCain said. “But when you see it in person, you realize that he’s special.”
“Worth every single penny,” cornerback Shaq Griffin, who is in his eighth season, said. “Every single penny.”
“I’ve never played with a receiver like this,” Robinson said.
Of course, talent plays a primary role. Jefferson’s body moves like a bowling ball down an oily lane. There always comes a time when he finds the grip and then spins violently into his route. His arms extend like golf ball retrievers to snatch one-handed passes. Collide with him over the middle, and he’ll absorb the contact like his body is elastic. He turns 50/50 balls into 80/20 balls.
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No other receiver in the history of the NFL has more yards through the first five seasons of his career, and it’s not close. Only Ja’Marr Chase and Warren Wells, a star for the Oakland Raiders in the late ’60s, have more touchdowns through five seasons, according to Pro Football Reference. This season, Jefferson has 100 catches, 1,479 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Teammates admire his consistency. Defensive end Jihad Ward, a Philadelphia native, compares Jefferson’s skill set to Allen Iverson’s in that he is doing things only he can at his size in an aesthetically cool way. What differs from Iverson, Ward knows, is Jefferson’s affinity for practice.
When asked the same question about what he’s learned from being around Jefferson, former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore referenced Jefferson’s day-to-day commitment.
“How hard he goes in practice is rare,” Gilmore said, “I mean, most guys … they think they can turn it on in the game. He actually puts the work in.”
It’s as simple, McCown said, as how Jefferson exits the huddle during a Wednesday afternoon walk-through. Some superstars he’s been around walk to the line of scrimmage. Coaches wait. Teammates refrain from asking them to speed up because of the unspoken hierarchy.
Larry Fitzgerald was not like that. Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr. weren’t either. Neither is Jefferson. It could be a route on air, according to Trent Sherfield Sr., and Jefferson — who always is the last receiver to take a rep, so that he can watch and critique and offer advice to other teammates — is fixating on every movement.
“What’s special is how much he enjoys getting after it,” McCown said. “You don’t know that, you can’t see that if you’re not in the building.”
Justin Jefferson warms up before the Vikings’ Week 10 game in Jacksonville. (Mike Carlson / Getty Images)
Jonathan Greenard, a key free-agent signing who has been one of the league’s best edge rushers, agreed with Gilmore and McCown. When Greenard first arrived, even he, an elite player, was tentative around Jefferson. It’s not that Jefferson was intimidating, but more that Greenard didn’t want to bother a player he knew was constantly being nagged — for autographs, photos, media appearances, everything.
Eventually, Greenard approached Jefferson and realized that the receiver is just reserved. He used a phrase also spoken by many of his teammates: “down to earth.” Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery mentioned Jefferson’s humility. Gilmore said Jefferson “is doing it the right way.”
“You see guys who are prima donnas,” Greenard said. “They don’t usually, like, care about the dirty work. They only care about their stats. He cares about winning, man.”
Like McCown, McCain, who matches up with Jefferson weekly on the scout team, described the receiver’s energy as palpable. It’s as if he and the team, as a whole, can almost symbiotically feel the way Jefferson is feeling.
Speaking in front of the team in a meeting room is not Jefferson’s preferred way of serving as a team leader. Instead, it’s everything we on the outside don’t see. He exits the building late in the evening and says goodbye to every person he sees. He shoots baskets on the mini hoop in the locker room. He jokes with trainers before practice. He talks ball with undrafted rookie cornerbacks afterward.
He is present and impactful in such a natural way that Robinson’s struggle to come up with a refined response starts to make sense.
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(Photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)