Eagan, Minn. (January 8, 2021) – Minnesota Vikings rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson was tabbed Second Team All-Pro by The Associated Press. The Associated Press NFL All-Pro teams are voted on by a national panel of 50 media members.
Jefferson garners his first All-Pro nod in his rookie campaign after a record-setting season in 2020. He is the only rookie to be named First or Second Team All-Pro this season and one of two rookies to receive votes (along with Tampa Bay's Tristan Wirfs). Jefferson is the first Vikings rookie to garner All-Pro honors since Cordarrelle Patterson was selected First Team All-Pro as a kick returner in 2013.
In December, the LSU product joined Randy Moss (1998) and Sammy White (1976) as the only Vikings rookie wide receivers to be named to the Pro Bowl in their first seasons. Jefferson also joined Moss and Amari Cooper (2015) as the only wide receivers in NFL history to be named to a Pro Bowl at the age of 21. Percy Harvin (2009) and Mecole Hardman (2019) were both selected at the age of 21 as return specialists.
The fifth receiver drafted in 2020, Jefferson broke the 18-year, Super Bowl-era rookie record for receiving yards (1,400) and set Vikings rookie records for receiving yards, receptions (88) and 100-yard games (7), passing the marks established by Hall of Famer Randy Moss during his 1998 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Jefferson's 1,400 yards ranked third among wide receivers, and his 23 receptions that gained 20 or more yards tied for the most in the league.
With his 133-yard performance at Detroit in Week 17, Jefferson became just the second player in the Super Bowl era to record seven 100-yard receiving games as a rookie, joining Odell Beckham Jr. (2014). His 87.5 receiving yards per game also rank second-most by a rookie in the history of the league behind only Beckham Jr. (108.8). Overall, the St. Rose, Louisiana, native joined Moss (in the 1999, 2000 and 2003 season) as the only players in team history to tally 1,400 receiving yards or more in a single season.
VIKINGS NAMED AP FIRST TEAM ALL-PRO UNDER MIKE ZIMMER
Adrian Peterson, RB 2015
Cordarrelle Patterson, KR 2016
Xavier Rhodes, CB 2017
Harrison Smith, S 2017
Eric Kendricks, LB 2019
VIKINGS NAMED AP SECOND TEAM ALL-PRO UNDER MIKE ZIMMER
Cordarrelle Patterson, KR 2015
Everson Griffen, DE 2017
Xavier Rhodes, DB 2017
Adam Thielen, WR 2017
Danielle Hunter, DE 2018
Harrison Smith, S 2018
Justin Jefferson, WR 2020
