Vikings WR Justin Jefferson No. 2 on NFL’s Top 100 Players list
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings will be in Seattle for their first preseason game Thursday night, and have three players that have landed on the 2023 NFL’s Top 100 Players list.
The list, compiled in a survey of the league’s players, ranks the top players in the game. To no surprise, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is among the best in the NFL right now. Jefferson was voted No. 2 overall, behind only Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Jefferson led the NFL last year with 128 catches for 1,809 yards, coming just shy of Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 yards. The No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has 324 catches for 4,825 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first three seasons. The Vikings got Jefferson via a draft choice in a trade that sent Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.
Jefferson has been to three straight Pro Bowls, and was First-Team All-Pro last season. He was also the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. He has the NFL record for catches in a receiver’s first three seasons. He has two years left on his rookie contract, but is seeking an extension to become one of the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL.
VIKINGS QB KIRK COUSINS NO. 42 ON TOP-100 LIST
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is on the NFL’s Top-100 Players list for the seventh time in his career, and he’s cracked the top-50. Cousins comes in at No. 42 overall, and sixth among quarterbacks.
Cousins led the Vikings to a 13-5 season in 2023, helping the franchise win its first division title in five seasons, throwing for more than 4,500 yards and 29 touchdowns. That’s while being sacked a career-high 46 times. Cousins is entering his sixth season in Minnesota, and has been a Pro Bowl selection three out of the last four years. He set an NFL record last season, leading eight fourth quarter comebacks with the Vikings.
In five seasons with the Vikings, Cousins is completing nearly 68 percent of his passes for 20,934 yards and 153 touchdowns.
HARRISON SMITH LANDS AT NO. 97 ON TOP-100 LIST
One of the longest-tenured players for the Minnesota Vikings is also one of the top 100 players in the NFL. Safety Harrison Smith came in at No. 97. A first round pick out of Notre Dame in 2012, Smith is entering his 12th season with the Vikings.
He had 85 tackles, one tackle for loss and tied a career-high with five interceptions last season. A leader in the Vikings’ secondary, Smith has 34 career interceptions, four defensive touchdowns, 16.5 sacks and 946.5 tackles. Smith has been a Pro Bowl pick six times, and was an All-Pro selection in 2017.