Is It Time To Have A Difficult Conversation About Justin Jefferson?

By Jody Smith | Updated on Mon, Dec 8 2025 4:15 AM UTC

The Vikings may have shut out the Commanders 31-0, but star WR Justin Jefferson made minimal impact on the Vikings' win. Jefferson caught 2-of-4 targets for 11 yards -- his third game in a row with fewer than 9 PPR points. Jefferson is now averaging 12.1 PPR points per game, by far the lowest of his career. A first-round pick in most fantasy drafts, the question now is, can we even afford to start Jefferson during the fantasy playoffs?

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Jefferson has now scored 8.8 PPR points or less in four of his last five games. Playing time wasn't a concern. Jefferson was in on 100% of the Vikings' snaps before the starters were pulled in the fourth quarter.

But Minnesota relied more on the ground game, and Jefferson ran a season-low 24 routes.

Lack of opportunity for Jefferson has been a problem in the seven games started by J.J. McCarthy, and it is only becoming more pronounced:

WEEK	TARGETS	RECEPTIONS	YARDS	TD	PPR
1	7	4	44	1	14.8
2	6	3	81	0	11.1
9	7	5	75	0	12.5
10	12	4	37	0	7.7
11	9	5	61	0	11.1
12	6	4	48	0	8.8
14	4	2	11	0	3.1

In Week 13, with Max Brosmer under center, Jefferson caught 2-of-6 targets for 4 yards -- the worst game of his career.

We've now reached the fantasy playoffs. Every game is a must-win now, but can fantasy managers trust Jefferson to even be a Flex option at this point?

The schedule looks awfully tempting.

The Vikings play the league's easiest schedule for WRs moving forward.

It starts in Week 15 with a trip to Dallas against a Cowboys' defense that has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing WRs.

Despite the struggles, Jefferson will be on the WR1/2 borderline for next week's playoff game.

Jody Smith, Analyst

Jody Smith has been playing fantasy football for over 30 years, the last 15 as an analyst, writer, and editor. Jody's rankings have been among the most consistent, placing him inside the top-10 in multi-year accuracy.