EAGAN, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer had a premonition about the impact Justin Jefferson would make as a rookie well before the receiver started breaking records that had stood for 20-plus years.
"Man, this guy looks different than everybody else," Zimmer told offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak during a training camp practice in August.
In a matter of weeks, Zimmer's hunch became a reality.
Four games into the season, Jefferson recorded two of his six 100-yard receiving games. Three months in as a first-year pro, Jefferson has exceeded expectations. Percy Harvin was the last Minnesota rookie wideout to perform this well; in 2009, Harvin won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after his 60-catch, 790-yard, six-touchdown season.
Fourteen games in, Jefferson has far surpassed that mark, ranking eighth in the NFL in yards (1,182) and becoming the fifth rookie receiver named to the Pro Bowl in the past 20 years.
This type of season isn't easily replicated, which furthers his case for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, another front-runner for the award, tied Baker Mayfield's rookie record for touchdown passes with 27, and Jefferson reached historical highs with two games still to play.
Jefferson surpassed Randy Moss' 69-catch team rookie record from 1998 by notching eight catches for 104 yards against the Bears last Sunday. Jefferson is 132 yards away from setting a team record for receiving yards (1,313), also held by Moss. He needs 292 yards to set the NFL rookie record set by Bill Groman in 1960 (1,473 yards). While Moss will likely hang on to his NFL-record 17 touchdowns as a rookie (Jefferson has seven), there are other achievements within reach.
Jefferson needs 18 receiving yards to become the sixth NFL rookie with 1,200 receiving yards and 118 yards would make him the fifth rookie with 1,300 yards in a season.
Jefferson's fifth catch against Chicago was the one that put him ahead of Moss. But it was the move he made to execute a 9-yard reception to set up Tyler Conklin's fourth-quarter touchdown that provided further proof that the word "rookie" does little to describe him.
With under nine minutes to play, the Vikings faced a critical third-and-5 from the Bears' 29-yard line with Jefferson aligned at the top of a bunch formation to the right of the line of scrimmage. He ran a 10-yard crossing route before turning back toward quarterback Kirk Cousins once he reached the right hash. Seeing quarters coverage, Cousins had to put the ball slightly behind Jefferson's outside shoulder to avoid the safety barreling down to make the tackle.
Jefferson adjusted his body, stretching his arms toward the visitor's sideline to make the catch and complete the play while getting drilled from behind.
"It's just not easy to do," Cousins said. "The fact that he can make that play -- he made almost the exact same play on a fourth down against Tampa Bay -- to do that repeatedly just says a lot about his ability to be a natural receiver and make those tough catches and do it again and again."
That routine ability to execute big plays is part of why Zimmer believed Jefferson could handle this stage. Those highlight-reel grabs helped earn him Pro Bowl honors in a year when he won't even get to play in the game. That consistency, however, shines a light on something bigger.
"To be honest, couldn't be more proud," Vikings receiver Adam Thielen said. "Just obviously with this year, not being able to be around him a whole lot in OTAs, getting a condensed training camp and seeing his progression throughout the year, just his consistency. I sent him a message last night talking to him about his consistency. His ability to make big plays not only within games time after time, but further than that, game after game after game.
"That's what stuck out to me the most. Some guys can come out and they can show how good they are, they can have flashes of being really great. But he's been so consistent in making big plays in big moments of pretty much every game throughout the season."
Minnesota (6-8) is hanging on to its playoff dreams by a thread, but the milestones in reach for Jefferson prove the Vikings right in their decision to start over by trading Stefon Diggs to Buffalo. Jefferson has plenty left to play for, if not to help his team claw back into a postseason bid, but to finish one of the best rookie receiver campaigns ever.
"I'm just ready to keep going," Jefferson said. "This is only my first year. So many things to improve on, so many things to work on. Definitely a bright start and looking now to finish my career and keep getting them."