Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown Miniature Beef Doesn't Add Up

Eagan MN

01 February, 2021

5:50 AM

Description

Press release from purplePTSD: January 30, 2021 Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown of the Tennessee Titans must be pals as the two keep popping up in internet videos together. Recently, Jefferson and Brown joined Hall of Famer Deion Sanders for a chat – one that spiraled into a festival of love and tough love for the Vikings. Sanders expressed his reservations on Kirk Cousins' quarterbacking ability while fawning over Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer. In that regard, Sanders is probably a closet Vikings fan because many Vikings loyalists feel the same way or vice versa. On Jefferson and Brown, the two wideouts playfully sparred over individual supremacy. Jefferson chided Brown on his receiving-yards total in contrast to his own. Brown's rebuttal involved the receiving targets inside a Vikings offense versus Tennessee's scheme. Brown has one more year of experience under his belt and is well on his way to the establishment of a Pro Bowl-infused career. The Ole Miss alumnus was elected to the Pro Bowl in 2020, the first honor of presumably many more. He is correct that the Titans do not target him like some WR1s around the NFL, yet he miscalculated the rationality of Jefferson's receiving-yards superiority. Jefferson Doesn't Get 10 Targets per Game (yet) Brown's retort when Jefferson pointed out the yards discrepancy was faulty. He stated that Jefferson is targeted about 10 times per game by Kirk Cousins. That isn't true. Some folks wish it true, but it is simply not accurate. Jefferson played in all 16 games during the pandemic season. He was allotted 125 targets. 125 ÷ 16 = 7.8 targets per game. The only NFL players to see 10 targets per game in 2020 were Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins. The year before that, 2019, Michael Thomas and his mass-production acumen saw 11.6 targets per game – a wide receiver's wet dream. Jefferson and Brown are not at that workhorse level in their respective careers. Both men will assuredly get there, but one or two seasons is generally "too soon" for an offensive coordinator to bet the enterprise on a single young player. Brown and Jefferson Targets Actually Comparable This part is quite humorous. Jefferson, as mentioned above, commanded 7.8 targets per game – a rather sizable number for a rookie pass-catcher. Brown missed two games to injury in 2020 but managed to fetch 106 targets in 14 games. His average was 7.6 targets per contest. 7.8 targets versus 7.6 targets per game is not substantial. Spread over a full season for Brown, his pace dictates that he would have seen three fewer targets than Jefferson altogether. Whoop-de-do. And Jefferson outgained Brown in receiving yards by 325. So, if Brown is confident that he would have accrued 325 yards in the two games he missed (it's possible), then he has a reasonable case to jab at Jefferson. Jefferson's yards per target in 2020 was 11.2 whereas Brown's finished at 10.1. If this conversation really matters, this is the stat for Jefferson to hang his purple helmet. All Brown had to mention for a "gotcha" moment was touchdowns. He scored four more touchdowns than Jefferson despite 19 fewer targets. That's Brown's bread-and-butter for now in comparison to Jefferson. Both Live in Run-First Systems How about this? They're both phenomenal. Jefferson had a more robust rookie campaign than Brown. He tallied 1,400 receiving yards and set the NFL record for a rookie in this metric. In 2019, Brown put the league on notice with 1,051 receiving yards and eight touchdowns – no small feat. Tennessee ran the ball more than any other team in the business not named 'Ravens' or 'Patriots' in 2020. The Titans handed the football to Derrick Henry and others a generous 50.3% of the time. Minnesota wasn't far behind. Former offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak called running plays on 45.8% of all snaps or sixth-most leaguewide. The Mikes enjoy running the football – Zimmer and Vrabel. Each is a self-professed "defensive coach," and that normally entails running the football. It's no wonder wide receivers under those two coaches are squawking about targets. This press release was produced by purplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author's own.