Justin Jefferson was the reason plenty of fantasy football teams failed in 2025. Very few blame #18 for those failures, but they happened. Minnesota’s star receiver enters 2026 with a little more clarity at the quarterback position, and that has managers comfortable in a bounce-back season with a late first/early second round ADP.
Should you be willing to build your team around him?
Should I Draft Justin Jefferson in Fantasy Football?
From 2020-24, only two receivers were better than Jefferson on a per-game basis in PPR leagues (Davante Adams and Ja’Marr Chase). Across those five seasons, he cleared 1,500 yards three times, scored 10+ touchdowns twice, and averaged 6.4 catches per game.
He wasn’t just a good fantasy asset; he was a difference maker at the highest of levels.
The JJ McCarthy experience last season was an unmitigated disaster, as his targets turned from highly effective plays to empty calories. There was an extended stretch in 2025 where he was able to turn 45 targets into just 185 yards and zero touchdowns.
Forget a first-round talent, he wasn’t startable.
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He turned 27 years of age this offseason and has missed time in only one of his six professional seasons. His target-earning skills were as sharp as ever last season, but those targets were … well, not on target.
Kyler Murray was named the starter for this franchise to open this season and given his track record with productive WR1s (namely DeAndre Hopkins), a bounce-back campaign feels inevitable for Jefferson.
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The only pause I have in making this click at the 1/2 turn is the loaded nature of the NFC North. What happens if the Vikes aren’t in playoff contention as we get into December?
McCarthy likely gets another shot, and that’s obviously a concern. That said, I tend to build my fantasy rosters with a focus on things we know to be true and it requires quite a bit of speculation to pencil in McCarthy as a wet blanket on your season after what we saw from him as a rookie.
Kyle Soppe’s WR Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Nico Collins | HOU
- Drake London | ATL
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Chris Olave | NO
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Christian Watson | GB
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Parker Washington | JAX
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Josh Downs | IND
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Mike Evans | SF
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Matthew Golden | GB
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Rashid Shaheed | SEA
- Jordyn Tyson | NO
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Romeo Doubs | NE
