All young players must earn their stripes when they first enter the National Football League.
However, as obvious as it may sound, just a handful of players are actually willing to do so.
They enter the NFL not just to make it as a pro athlete; they want to be among the all-time greats.
According to former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman, that’s the kind of player Justin Jefferson is.
Talking on The 33rd Team, the renowned executive revealed that Jefferson worked as hard as any player he’d ever seen, comparing him to the likes of Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson (via The Purple Persuasion).
“He works as hard as anyone I’ve ever been around… when he came in one thing he talked about was I want to be known as one of the best receivers, if not the best receiver that played in the NFL.”
-Former #Vikings GM Rick Spielman on WR Justin Jefferson
🎥: @The33rdTeamFB / IG pic.twitter.com/owUdE0ATW7
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) July 4, 2024
Spielman revealed that Jefferson talked to him about his Hall of Fame aspirations, adding that he let him know that he wanted to be known as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — wide receiver in the history of the league.
It’s still early to tell, and he has a long way to go and a long path to walk to earn that distinction.
Nonetheless, he’s already considered one of the best wide receivers in today’s game, and that’s why the Vikings didn’t hesitate to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback player the game had ever seen.
Needless to say, with that kind of money also comes big responsibilities.
But given his God-given traits and his work ethic, it was an easy decision to make for an organization that has watched him put in the work every single day since he entered the league.
