Why you should draft Justin Jefferson this year in fantasy football

Justin Jefferson is coming off an injury in which he missed seven games but still got 1,000 yards in a season in which Kirk Cousins got hurt as well. But, we are going to be going over why you should draft Justin Jefferson at picks 5-9. He could easily be the #1 wide receiver in fantasy football this season with this Vikings offense.

Last season in just ten games, Justin Jefferson had 68 receptions for 1,074 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 15.8 yards per reception and 107 yards per game. He did most of this without his QB1 on the season, Kirk Cousins and for his last five games he had Nick Mullens as his quarterback. In this stretch of games he averaged over 100 yards per game and two touchdowns.

The reason we think that you should draft Justin Jefferson in round one this season is also because of his new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was selected tenth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. With the Michigan Wolverines last year, he threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and only threw five interceptions. On the rushing side of things, McCarthy ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He is currently competing for the QB1 spot with Sam Darnold, but he will likely take over soon.

Overall, Justin Jefferson should be picked in the first round this season. On ESPN, he is projected to be the sixth overall pick, but we think he could go fifth or fourth this year, in which sixth, seven or even eighth would be a steal. His last fully healthy season, he was the WR1 in points-per-reception leagues and half-PPR leagues. Either way, Jefferson will be a steal this year.