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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/packmanwiscy on 2025-07-04 16:44:59+00:00.
Welcome to ranks 10-6 for the r/NFL Top 100 Players of the 2024 Season!
Link for more detailed methodology
#10 - Justin Jefferson - Minnesota Vikings - Wide Receiver
Previous Ranks
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 3 | 18 | 33 |
Written by: u/uggsandstarbux
Introduction
The Post Diggs era has been good in the Minnesota receiving room. It comes as no surprise that Jettas has been on this list every season he’s been healthy with his second appearance in the top 10. After a 2024 campaign that saw Jefferson finish in the top 6 in yards, TDs, and EPA – and accumulate another All Pro and Pro Bowl – Jefferson continues to add to his impressive (and long) resume. He holds the record for receiving yards in each of his first five seasons—yes, every one of them*.* He is the fastest WR to ever reach 5000 yards. He has hit 2.50+ yards per route run in every single season of his career.
He is QB-proof, having put up monster games with everyone from Kirk Cousins to Nick Mullens. 2024 saw him meld with another new passer in Sam Darnold, who gave Jefferson nearly 60 more targets than the next Viking up.
Jefferson has reached the point in his career where we aren’t comparing him to his modern-era peers, but the greats across history: Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss.
2024 Season
Jefferson is truly an elite and complete receiver. He wins in every way imaginable. He had the 15th most yards on outbreaking routes, 10th most yards on routes vs man coverage, and 9th most yards on screens. Oh, and he also ranked in the top 5 in yards on inbreaking routes, routes involving motion, routes with play action, routes vs off coverage, routes vs press, and routes vs zone coverage. Most significant to his game in 2024, Jefferson led the league in receptions (22) and yards (649) on vertical routes – like this one – while tying for 2nd in TDs (7) on such routes. Not bad for someone who is “unable to run away and separate from tight man” He is such a diverse threat that there is no single way to stop him.
It’s not just what he does when he’s the focal point of the play. Jefferson has gravity. Jefferson doesn’t just pull defenders – he distorts coverage schemes like gravity bends light. His presence alone torments the souls of DBs as they lie awake at night fearing his presence. Watch a Vikings red zone snap and you’ll see cornerbacks glued to Jefferson like it’s a 1-on-11 drill. The minute he motions inside, safeties are already adjusting, linebackers are peeking, and everyone else is reacting. He pulls vertical defenders from open space when he runs a fake screen. Safeties abandon their assignment when they think he’s a threat. Double teams leave his teammates wide open against helpless defenders. There are receivers who command attention. Jefferson demands surrender.
There is no better example of the fear that Jefferson puts into defenders than his infamous touchdown against Atlanta where a defender tackles air. DBs are so afraid of him that they get into their own heads, convinced any foot in the dirt is the start of a route fake.
And just because I don’t have a better place to put it, here’s Jefferson beating double coverage and outrunning two DBs for a 97 yard touchdown. What can I say? The man is a walking highlight reel. In working to write this, I found unbelievable highlights even when I wasn’t trying to.
His 2024 performance didn’t just earn Pro Bowl nods. It rewrote the economics of the receiver position. The deal he inked last offseason made him the highest-paid non-QB in league history, and by Week 10 it felt like a bargain. Just ask the front offices that have the other elite non-QBs up for extension soon (looking at you, Jerry). Jefferson didn’t break the WR market. He became the market. Some folks buy a house when they turn 25. Jefferson bought an entire tax bracket.
Legacy
Jefferson is far from lacking in confidence, but he also continues to work and fight like he’s still a last minute offer at LSU. Voted a team captain for the second year in a row, Vikings look up to Jefferson. They see how he carries himself – on the field, in the facility, and in the community – and they strive to emulate his aura. Jefferson isn’t just an elite receiver, he’s an elite person.
The biggest shame about Jefferson’s career is that in the grand scheme of things, a season like this – which everything a normal WR would dream about – will likely get lost in a sea of elite statistical seasons. In 15 years, this season – where he was definitively a top 2 WR – won’t be mentioned when we talk about Jefferson’s career because there were so many better ones.
What else is there to accomplish? The only thing more dangerous than a dominant Jefferson is Jefferson paired with a franchise QB. If JJ McCarthy can settle into the NFL game quickly – and if the revamped run game takes off – O’Connell might finally see the full vision of his offense take off.
He’s not chasing greatness anymore – he’s lapping it. And if McCarthy and O’Connell can unlock the next gear, Jefferson won’t just inch toward Moss. He’ll rewrite the comparison.
#9 - Derrick Henry - Baltimore Ravens - Running Back
Previous Ranks
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 43 | N/A | 6 | 16 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Written by: u/broccolibush42
Hear ye, hear ye! Gather 'round for the heralding of a sovereign unlike any before him.
In the Ninth Year of His reign, amidst the thunderous clash of armored men and the sacred roar of the stadiums, rose King Derrick of House Henry, the Titan of Trenches, The Raven of the Skies, ruler of the Gridiron Realm. Towering as tall as the skyscrapers of Baltimore and possessed of a might that could upend mountain men with a single charge, he was no ordinary monarch. Nay, he was a juggernaut clad not in robes of purple velvet, but in iron-clad determination and woven legends. But first one must understand how he has risen to such heights and splendor.
Legends told that his majesty Henry was born out of the womb at his current size, a whopping 6’4" 240 pound man purely made out of muscle and grit. He started his young career off as a prince in the City of Yulee, Florida where he laid waste to poor youths that had just got out of Algebra 2. In the 4 years of Henry’s tutelage at his secondary level, he had rushed for 12,124 yards and scored 153 touchdowns, averaging 8.7yards per carry and 252.6 yards per game. In his 4th and final year of high school, he rushed for 4,261 yards and 55 touchdowns in 13 games. The youths stood no chance at stopping this man. Henry did not stop, no! He kept up his dominance at the next level, in the southern lands of Alabama, where they bleed football at the collegiate level! In 2013, Henry had attained his first moniker, El Tractorcito, coined by Pablo Viruega who had noted Henrys long strides and powerful gaits. Splitting carries in his first two seasons, it wasn’t until 2015 where Henry made his mark. Rushing for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns, the NCAA bequeathed unto him the Heisman Trophy award. Henry thereafter went on to win the College National Championship game, adding to his legend. Henry had accomplished what he needed to at this stage, it was time to rise to new levels. Henry declared his ascension to the NFL.
It was not the start the Young Lord had dreamed it would be. Despite his accomplishments on the football field, Henry watched 44 players get drafted in front of him before the Titans drafted him. He would spend his first two seasons watching the back of Demarco Murray and getting opportunities when Mur…
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