If there is one person on planet Earth that is an expert on route-running, it is Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson. On the Yahoo Fantasy Football Show, host Matt Harmon asks Jefferson to lay out the top-five route runners in the NFL.
Jefferson ranks them:
1a. Justin Jefferson
1b. Davante Adams
3. Keenan Allen
4. Stefon Diggs
5. Ja’Marr Chase
There’s a bit of bias in his list at the top with himself. But, given his recent success and consistent ability to create separation, there shouldn’t be an argument.
Jefferson does show a lot of respect to Las Vegas Raider Davante Adams by putting the All-Pro receiver on his level of route-running. He then lists Keenan Allen stating he has “one of the best routes and releases.” Then, he rounds out his list with former Viking Stefon Diggs and his former LSU running mate Ja’Marr Chase.
Harmon is then put on the hot seat and lists out his top five:
1a. Stefon Diggs
1b. Justin Jefferson
3. Davante Adams
4. A.J. Brown
5. Tyler Lockett
Harmon puts Diggs, Jefferson, and Adams in the first three spots. According to Harmon, they are “the clear top three.”
He then throws A.J. Brown in the mix because he is “so explosive” and shows his vertical route-running prowess as an “over-the-top guy.” Harmon’s list rounds out with the Seattle Seahawks Tyler Lockett, who got the nod over guys like Allen, Calvin Ridley and Cooper Kupp because of his ability to “work back to the quarterback when selling a vertical route.”
All seven of the receivers listed and all nine mentioned are certified route technicians. They can win vertically, horizontally, up the seams, near the sideline, wherever. However, something occurred to me as I looked at these lists. Other than Chase, Jefferson is the youngest on these lists at 24. Besides Chase and 26-year-old A.J. Brown, most of these receivers are close to or are 30 years old.
The sky truly is the limit for the talent that we can see from Justin Jefferson.
