It’s not the shot heard ’round the world, but Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has attracted attention after he spoke about Kirk Cousins during his guest appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.”
Asked to compare Cousins and Joe Burrow, the No. 1 pick in last year’s NFL Draft who was his quarterback in college at LSU, Jefferson suggested that Burrow is better at standing in the pocket with 300-pound lineman preparing to slam him to the ground.
“Kirk and Joe throw similar balls,” Jefferson said. “They’re not the strongest arms, but they’re going to get it to you exactly where you need them to throw it. The thing about Joe that’s a little bit different — I feel like Joe has a little bit more swagger. He has that confidence on the field, he’s not scared to get hit. I feel like as a quarterback, that’s a big trait to have, especially to be as young as he is. He’s a phenomenal quarterback.”
Jefferson told it like he sees it, though to assume he was taking a shot at Cousins is crazy considering Jefferson caught 88 passes for 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2020.
And while Jefferson may believe Burrow is better at taking hits than Cousins, it’s Cousins who has been able stay healthy his entire career while Burrow’s rookie season ended when he tore his ACL in his tenth game. Burrow actually had to play behind an offensive line that was worse than Minnesota’s at pass protecting in 2020; Burrow was sacked 32 times in 10 games while Cousins was dropped for a sack 39 times in 16 games.
The other juicy nugget from Jefferson’s appearance with Cowherd was him saying he wasn’t surprised to hear a report that Minnesota was interested in drafting Justin Fields, later settling to take Kellen Mond in the third round.
Still, Jefferson said he was not surprised when he heard the rumors that the Vikings were interested in Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, had he been available to them in the draft.
“We have to build on for after Kirk, or whatever the case may be. Having Justin Fields brings a little bit more pressure to other teams by having a dominant quarterback like he is,” Jefferson said.
