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Kevin Seifert
From the moment he entered the league, Justin Jefferson has hovered near the top of the NFL’s historical curve. He is the only player to surpass 3,000 receiving yards in his first two seasons. Then he was the fastest or tied for the fastest to surpass milestones at 4,000, 5,000 and 6,000 yards. And he was the youngest player ever to reach 7,000 yards.
Yet as he continues along a Hall of Fame path, with 529 career receptions for 7,960 yards and 41 touchdowns entering the Minnesota Vikings’ game Thursday night at the Los Angeles Chargers (8:15 p.m. Prime Video), he has almost no chance of breaking any of the NFL’s career receiving records.
Jefferson is only 26 and is currently on a hot streak, averaging 109.3 receiving yards per game since Week 4. But like many before him, Jefferson is up against arguably the most unbreakable records in pro football.
Jerry Rice — the first NFL player who earned the now-ubiquitous GOAT nickname after a career that spanned three decades from 1985 to 2004 — set a standard that has weathered the NFL’s transition into a passing-dominated league.
Ja’Marr Chase would have to maintain his current touchdown rate of 0.74 per game for 12 more seasons to reach it. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald retired at 37 after 17 seasons and ranks second in receptions, 127 short of Rice, and there isn’t an active player within 500 catches of Rice’s record.
«I’ve watched so much about him on video and it’s just crazy what he did,» Jefferson told ESPN. «It’s crazy because so much was different back then from now. It’s so much more advanced now. The throwing game has upgraded so much. So the fact that he had 22,000 in those times is unreal.
«What if he had more passing? What would he have if he was in this type of system [in Minnesota]? What type of numbers would he have? So it’s definitely tough to really think about breaking them. That’s why he’s always going to have the argument for being the GOAT. To have 22,000 yards, it’s unreal.»
Seattle Seahawks.
«Crazy,» Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey said. «I mean, I think about my dad. He’s in his upper 40s, and that’s like seeing my dad out there playing. I don’t know about that.»
«Wild,» the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr said.
«I can’t imagine it,» New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers said. «I’ll be so old.»
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers: «That’s nuts. Even now, I think of people who’ve played for 10 years and everyone’s saying that’s a long time. In 10 years, I’ll be only 31, 32. And I’m like, ‘That seems like a long time.'»
«Unheard of,» Jefferson said. «You just try to get past five seasons in this league. To be 42, running routes, catching a ball and getting hit? That’s just a credit to him.»
From a relative sense, Jefferson has as strong a candidacy as anyone. He is one of the NFL’s best route runners, a skill that in theory should allow him to continue getting open long after he is past his physical prime, and he has had one significant injury, a left hamstring strain that cost him seven games in 2023. He has caught passes from eight different quarterbacks since 2020, as the Vikings have searched for the kind of Hall of Fame-worthy passer that Rice enjoyed for most of his career, from Joe Montana to Steve Young.
«Right now he’s just a per-year goal-oriented guy,» Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell said. «He’s not looking out at Jerry. He knows it’s out there. He knows how fast he’s reaching these milestones, but he’s just kind of like, ‘I’m just doing Justin right now.’
«And I want him to think that way. … You look at guys like [Tampa Bay’s] Mike Evans who got to 1,000 yards in 11 straight years. One day you could look up and Justin might have 15 of them. And he’d still be short of Jerry.»
Lebron [James] and MJ [Michael Jordan]. What would they do in each other’s eras? You can sit there and speculate, and I feel like all the old heads are like, ‘Oh, they wouldn’t do nothing.’ And we’re like, ‘Oh yeah, they would.’ But I’m not sure.»
Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua, who was 22 as a rookie.
As driven as players such as Jefferson, Chase and others are, none of them are thinking seriously about Rice’s records — perhaps the ultimate show of respect for his accomplishments.
«If I’m being honest?» Chase said. «No.»
Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, in his sixth season, compiled 6,339 receiving yards in his first five campaigns, 25 behind Rice’s production over the same period. Lamb called it a «huge honor to even be remotely close to him» but added: «Take it with a grain of salt and keep going.»
Baltimore Ravens receiver DeAndre Hopkins, 33, leads all active players with 13,143 receiving yards — nearly 10,000 fewer than Rice. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, 36, is the leading active pass-catcher (1,035), 514 off of Rice’s record, while the Los Angeles Rams’ Davante Adams (33) holds the active lead in touchdown receptions at 109, a mere 88 shy of Rice.
Hopkins, Kelce, Evans and Adams are all likely nearing the ends of their careers. So for Jefferson, challenging Rice is «not really something that I strive for, something that I’ll really look forward to and have it written on my mirror trying to accomplish.
«Of course I think about what my legacy will be when it’s all said and done,» he added. «I definitely want to leave a great mark and definitely would like my name to be installed into the Hall of Fame, getting the gold jacket of course, and being listed as one of the greats and with those that have played the game before us. So hopefully I’m just in that conversation.»
ESPN NFL Nation reporters Todd Archer, Ben Baby, Mike DiRocco, Paul Gutierrez, Jordan Raanan and Kris Rhim contributed to this story.
All charts courtesy of ESPN Research.
