EAGAN, Minn. -- Five wide receivers were drafted before Justin Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings 22nd overall and 31 were taken after him.
Nine games into his career, Jefferson leads all rookies with 762 receiving yards (84.7 yards per game, which also ranks No. 1) and has reached the top of the receiving charts on 15 fewer targets than rookie leader Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos, the second receiver off the board in April.
Jefferson introduced the NFL world to "The Griddy," his toe-tapping touchdown celebration that went viral during his days at LSU and has become a trend for many upon crossing into the end zone.
This is the life Jefferson dreamed for himself since he put his Hall of Fame aspirations into the ether at the age of 10. While he's just getting started on a promising career, there's one honor that he may be close to achieving if he keeps it up.
The NFL's Offensive Rookie of the year award has been won by NFC players for 13 straight seasons. That streak could continue in 2020, and it may very well go to the Vikings' superstar in the making.
Jefferson recorded his fourth 100-yard game on Monday by catching eight passes for 135 yards in a win at Chicago. His 762 receiving yards are the seventh most in the league and the fifth most by a player in his first nine career games since the 1970 merger, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Jefferson is on pace for 75 receptions and 1,355 yards, which would top the miraculous 1998 season by Randy Moss (69 catches for 1,313 yards).
The Vikings have the NFL's highest designed-run percentage (49.2%) and send an average of 23 touches per game through running back Dalvin Cook, making Jefferson's start even more remarkable. In this run-first scheme, Minnesota has deployed two-receiver sets on 53% of its offensive plays.
"The thing that's happening with Justin is that he's been explosive," offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said. "His yards per catch has been exceptional. I think the thing -- it didn't surprise me but it might have surprised some people -- is how well he runs after the catch. He has a plan, and you could see that in college after the play.
"That's very important in this league because it's hard enough to get open, and if you're a threat with the ball in your hands after you catch it, that makes you even a better player. I think he'll continue to grow in that phase of his game because it's definitely a strength."
Jefferson's 276 yards after the catch rank eighth in the NFL and is the highest of any rookie.
Since his breakout in Week 3, when he had seven catches for 175 yards and a TD against Tennessee, Jefferson has played 77% of the offensive snaps. In that time, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has become the NFL leader in yards per attempt (9.15) and yards per dropback (8.33).
That's probably not a coincidence, especially for an offense that was trying to figure out its identity early. Jefferson's 18.1 yards per catch is tied for fourth-most among all receivers, as he's become the deep-ball threat the Vikings were seeking after trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills in the offseason.
And what bolsters his rookie of the year case is he isn't just faring well for a rookie.
Jefferson leads all receivers (with a minimum of 150 routes run) on most yards run per route with 3.3. That's more than three perennial Pro Bowlers: the Packers' Davante Adams (3.2), Cardinals' DeAndre Hopkins (2.9) and Falcons' Julio Jones (2.8). His output on vertical routes? Also a league leader and almost half of his overall production (388).
Jefferson faces stiff competition from Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who became the first rookie in NFL history to throw at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games, and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose 276.1 passing yards per game ranks ninth. But the competition Jefferson has faced helps his case, especially with the way defenses are now having to account for him.
"I just noticed it when we played Green Bay when Jaire Alexander was following me," Jefferson said. "You start realizing, you start making those plays and the top corners that you watched for a long time start following you around the field. It's definitely been changing a little bit since I've been making plays, but that just opens our offense up more."
For Kubiak, maximizing Jefferson's impact the final seven games means moving him around so defenses won't be able to double or eliminate him. Jefferson has lined up 286 times out wide and 130 times in the slot. On Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, whose secondary is allowing opposing QBs to put up a passer rating of 103.1, Cousins should be able to pick his spots between Adam Thielen and Jefferson.
The last time a rookie receiver topped 1,000 yards and was named to the Pro Bowl in the same season was Amari Cooper with the Raiders in 2015. Jefferson, whose Pro Bowl candidacy is already being touted by the Vikings, is not far from crossing that threshold.
As he's proven throughout this season, especially on a critical third-and-11 conversion in Chicago that went 54 yards and allowed Minnesota to get back in the game and win, he is an asset.
"Hard time reinventing how to describe him, but he's very natural at tracking the football, catching the football, separating, making the tough catch," Cousins said. "He caught a slant on a third down and long [Monday against the Bears] that was out in front of him, not an easy catch. He makes that catch look pretty natural. Pretty easy. That's hard to teach. That's where you say you can get a guy who's fast, who's quick, who's strong, but is he a natural receiver when the ball is a little bit away from his body, can he be fluid and go get it? Justin has shown that time and again."
Jefferson's finish could separate him from the pack of elite rookies. With a historic number of receivers drafted in 2020 (37), Jefferson has had no problem standing out and proving himself.
And those achievements could earn him the highest honor for an offensive rookie.