Dumb things happen in sports all the time, but rarely are we afforded the opportunity to laugh together at what can only be defined as the dumbest of the dumb. Today, dear friends, that honor is yours as someone responding to ESPN’s annual NFL survey thinks Justin Jefferson is the seventh best wide receiver in the NFL.
Yes, there is at least one person – a league executive, coach, scout or player in the NFL – who thinks there are six wide receivers better than Jefferson.
May we remind whomever voted him seventh that Jefferson has more receiver yards (4,825) than anyone in the history of the game through three seasons and is fresh off a 128-catch, 1,800-yard season in which he was a finalist for MVP and won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.
Sense prevailed as Jefferson ultimately landed the No. 1 spot based on the rest of the responses, but the No. 7 pick by the anonymous responder remains glaring nonetheless, even attracting the ire of ESPN’s own Mina Kimes.
I will not get triggered by rankings
I will not get triggered by rankings
I will not get trigge–I CHALLENGE THIS PERSON TO A DUEL https://t.co/KZkq9JR3cH pic.twitter.com/Oao8WHpLjI
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 18, 2023
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the results are based on votes cast by league executives, coaches, scouts and players.
We’ll never know the person who ranked Jefferson seventh – our best guess would be the Packers’ Jaire Alexander, who thinks he has Jefferson’s number after getting the better of him in double and triple coverage last season.
Jefferson’s seventh ranking isn’t the only head-scratcher.
Davante Adams, who is No. 2 in the overall results, was actually ranked as low as 9th by someone included in the quiz. The same goes for Tyreek Hill, who is fourth overall but had at least one person rank him 9th. Like, what?
Some anonymous voters didn’t even include Cooper Kupp and Stefon Diggs in their top 10, though the majority saw otherwise and therefore their overall ranks are 5th and 6th, respectively.
