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Will Justin Jefferson be healthy enough to play for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1? Dan breaks down the latest Justin Jefferson injury news for fantasy football.
Injuries are an unfortunate part of fantasy football. And while injuries are mostly unpredictable, sometimes we need to adjust our rankings heading into the season to avoid the potential for an injury to derail our season.
Some fantasy managers avoid injuries at all costs in fantasy drafts. Others lean into the risk and take players at a discount, hoping that the injury won’t limit the player's long-term performance.
One player who was injured this preseason was Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Is he healthy? Will he miss Week 1? Find out below.
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Justin Jefferson Injury Update
Justin Jefferson missed nearly all of the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp due to a mild hamstring strain. The injury wasn’t considered serious, and Jefferson was able to take part in practices (no full team drills) as camp got into August. He went 25 days without practicing.
The veteran receiver returned in plenty of time to begin ramping up for the 2025 season, and there is no indication that the injury will linger, especially because the team was able to take a cautious approach with their most talented offensive weapon.
Barring a re-injury (at this point, a setback is unlikely), Jefferson will be on the field for the Vikings' first game of the season.
Justin Jefferson Fantasy Outlook
A case can be made that Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the NFL today. Since entering the league in 2020, Jefferson has averaged 146.0 targets, 99.0 receptions, 1,486.4 receiving yards, and 8.0 touchdowns per season. He has never averaged fewer than 17.0 PPR points per game, nor has he finished outside the top nine wide receivers in fantasy.
The feat is even more impressive considering the quarterback play he has had to endure. Jefferson has caught passes from Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, Joshua Dobbs, and Sam Darnold throughout his career. The veteran receiver has found success with them all, establishing himself as a quarterback-proof weapon at wide receiver.
Jefferson has never averaged fewer than 14.0 yards per reception in his career. In 2024, he was the WR3 in target share (29.9%), the WR5 in red zone targets (24), and the WR6 in yards after the catch (482) and yards per route run (2.57).
JUSTIN JEFFERSON WITH A 16.7 FANTASY POINT TOUCHDOWN 😮 pic.twitter.com/FwQtT6QNzh
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 15, 2024
The Vikings will be breaking in another new quarterback this season with 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy under center. McCarthy was viewed as a raw prospect with excellent tools coming out of Michigan, due to his limited passing volume; however, that should not be a significant issue for a player like Jefferson, who can excel anywhere on the field.
It is worth noting, however, that almost all of Jefferson’s games have come with experienced quarterbacks under center.
The veteran receiver should have no problem continuing to earn targets at a high rate, especially with Jordan Addison set to miss the first three games of the regular season. Even when Addison returns, the passing offense will continue to flow through Jefferson.
At full strength, there is plenty of target competition in Minnesota, especially after the team traded for Adam Thielen. However, even if we think some of the passing weapons in Minnesota are talented (Addison and T.J. Hockenson) or reliable (Thielen and running back Aaron Jones Sr.), there isn’t a player on this roster who will earn targets over Jefferson.
The veteran receiver enters his sixth season as one of the most reliable and productive receivers in the NFL. He has established that his floor as a fantasy player is a top-five scoring wide receiver in fantasy, and that will not change next season. Jefferson can reasonably be drafted with the third pick in fantasy drafts, given his playmaking ability.
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