The 12th annual NFL Honors show is currently being held tonight in Phoenix, Arizona and former LSU Tiger Justin Jefferson took home a prestigious award on Thursday night. Jefferson was named AP Offensive Player of the year after a stellar 2022 season with the Minnesota Vikings. The 23-year old wide reciever improved would go on to to finish the season with 128 receptions, 1,809 and 13.9 yards per touch during his third season in the NFL. Jefferson would lead the league in both receptions and yards.
Justin Jefferson’s Journey to the NFL:
Jefferson wasn’t always a highly-regarded wide receiver as he was only rated as a three-star recruit coming out of high school. Jefferson decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps by committing to LSU. He would have limited action during his freshman season in 2017.
Jefferson would benefit from Joe Burrow transferring from Ohio State to LSU heading into the 2018 as the St.Rose, Louisiana native would become LSU’s go-to targets. He led the Tigers in receptions (54), yards (875) and touchdowns (6). Jefferson would burst onto the scene after the 2018 season and the expectations heading into the 2019 season would be at its peak.
He would finish the 2019 season with a school-record 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns. The 1,540 yards ranks No. 3 in school history, while the 18 touchdowns rank No. 2 behind fellow teammate Ja’Marr Chase’s 20 touchdowns in the same season. Jefferson would lead the SEC in receptions and ranked No. 2 in the league behind Chase in yards, touchdowns and yards per game. For his performance on the field, Jefferson was named on the second team All-SEC.
Jefferson would be able to elevate his draft status after a stellar 2018 and 2019 season to land him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft where he would be selected 22nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings.
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