The Vikings have been blessed with wide receivers this century. Which one gets the nod as the best of the best since 2000?
The Minnesota Vikings have been one of the most blessed franchises in the NFL this century when it comes to finding and drafting wide receivers. They entered the 2000s on the tail end of Cris Carter’s career and the beginning of Randy Moss’. After a decade of Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, and Sidney Rice, the Vikings eventually found the duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen before hitting the jackpot with Justin Jefferson.
We are skipping running back as the obvious and undisputed answers are Adrian Peterson as RB1 and Dalvin Cook as RB2, but I believe it’s worth going through the motions to see which of the team’s top wideout this century — Randy Moss and Justin Jefferson — will end up being WR1. From there, it’s probably safe to assume the one not picked slides in right behind the other.
For the sake of expanding the pool, we couldn’t leave out both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen in case anyone felt extremely compelled to make a case for either of them.
Let’s go ahead and dive in!
Justin Jefferson (2020-2024)
The entire Vikings front office jumped with joy the moment the Eagles selected Jalen Reagor over Jefferson just one pick ahead of their selection in the first round of the 2020 draft. They couldn’t believe the decision from Philly, and even today it’s still viewed as one of the biggest draft fumbles this century.
Since joining the Vikings, all Jefferson has done is set receiving record after receiving record. Through five seasons, he still holds the all-time NFL record for receiving yards per game in a career at 96.5. In all, he’s totaled 7,432 yards (the most of any MIN player this century) and 40 touchdowns, all while missing seven games during the 2023 season.
In five seasons, Jefferson has earned both First-Team All-Pro and Second-Team All-Pro nods twice, including being named the Associated Press’ Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 after leading the league with 1,809 receiving yards.
Randy Moss (1998-2004)
Moss set the football world on fire from the moment he stepped on an NFL field. Prior to the turn of the century, Moss caught 28 touchdowns and racked up 2,726 receiving yards on 149 receptions from 1998-1999.
From 2000 onward, he caught 425 passes for 6,416 yards and 62 touchdowns. In 2003, he tied his career high of 17 scores but posted an all new high mark of 1,632 receiving yard to go with it. Moss was named to three Pro Bowls (2000, 2002-2003) and twice earned First-Team All-Pro (2000, 2003).
Adam Thielen (2014-2022)
A former UDFA from local DII Mankato State, Thielen worked his way from special teams standout to bonafide playmaker for the Vikings. After spending 2013 on the practice squad, Thielen made the team’s final 53-man roster in 2014. Two seasons later, Thielen went from role player to team leader, going on a three-season stretch where he averaged over 90 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards, and six touchdowns from 2016-2018.
When Thielen’s time with Minnesota came to an end, he had totaled 6,682 yards and 55 total touchdowns to go with two Pro Bowl nods (2017-2018) and a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2017.
Stefon Diggs (2015-2019)
Diggs was selected by the Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He made up one half of the Vikings top receiving duo during his time in Minnesota alongside the aforementioned Thielen, both playing complementary football to each other’s skillset.
In five seasons with the Vikings, Diggs totaled 4,623 yards and 30 touchdowns, including two 1,000-yard seasons. It wasn’t until after he was traded away that he truly hit his ceiling in the NFL as a member of the Bills.