EAGAN — Assuming you don’t turn injuries off, the Madden video game makes it very easy to implement a player back into the lineup after injury. You just place him on the depth chart and he does everything he’s programmed to do by the game. If only it were that easy.
As the Minnesota Vikings get Justin Jefferson back, the offensive coaching staff will be tasked with making their third major adjustment of the season on the fly. First when Jefferson went out in a Week 5 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and then when Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in Week 8 at Lambeau Field. Now as they get set to face the Raiders in Vegas, the return of the NFL’s best receiver requires another significant change in strategy.
“Now we are back in the world of — now [the defense] knows that Justin is back, how is the coverage going to adjust potentially with him out there on early downs, third downs and red zone?” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “We have to be back in the mode of being more aware of how coverage can be tilted or rolled to his side. Where his alignment is, there are going to know where he’s at.”
Certainly adding a player like Jefferson to the mix after going 5-2 and ranking ninth in points scored during his recovery from a hamstring injury is a problem that anyone would be happy to have but it is worth observing how Jefferson-centric the offense was when he was healthy. Over the first five weeks Jefferson posted 571 yards, which was more than Pro Bowl tight end TJ Hockenson and rising star rookie Jordan Addison had combined. Since the injury, Hockenson and Addison have averaged a combined 17 targets for 138 yards per game.
“It’s one of those things that — understanding the type of player JJ is, other guys have to be a little less selfish because when you get a guy like [Jefferson] he’s going to get a share of those targets and we want it that way,” Phillips said. “Hard to tell receivers sometimes that you might get a few less but everyone understands and everyone is excited that JJ is back so it’ll work itself out.”
While Jefferson will definitely go right back into WR1 mode, the landscape is different from before he went down because other players have stepped up in his absence. Hockenson led the NFL in targets in that span, Addison put himself into the top three rookie receivers in total receiving yards and punt returner Brandon Powell proved that he’s more than just a bit player. Those experiences do not disappear as soon as the superstar walks back into the building.
“It’s good to know your assignment on the page when you are doing an install but doing it in real time and having experience is invaluable for these guys and having confidence that when it does come my way I’m going to make the play,” Phillips said. “It helps make your team better when guys step up and then you get good players back.”
As effective as everyone was at filling the void — the Vikings ranked sixth in passing yards while Jefferson was missing — Phillips also pointed out that there are answers to the other receivers that defenses were starting to find. With Jefferson there are no answers.
There were plans defensively where they were starting to figure out that maybe if we do this with Jordan Addison that we can try to take away some of his juice if we get up tighter on him,” Phillips said. “With other receivers you are trying to find [weaknesses] but it’s hard to find them with JJ. He beats people in press, he beats them when they are off, he wins down the field, it’s what makes him so unique, so special.”
The Vikings won’t just be readjusting to having Jefferson back, they will be asking him to adapt to a new quarterback as well. Phillips, who noted that Kevin O’Connell’s official QB announcement (expected to be Josh Dobbs) will come on Wednesday, said that the staff spent the bye week looking for ways they could focus on what Dobbs does best rather than trying to scramble each week to fit the journeyman quarterback into their system.
“It gave us time to look at what he has done here closely and take a breath from game-planning for the next team and starting to look at, what did he have success with?” Phillips said. “What are things we can help him with and work on throughout yesterday’s practice and going forward this week. Him getting accustomed to our offense and our system, he’s got more time and we can put a couple of those things together where we are hopefully doing some things that are good for him.”
What types of things are we talking?
One could be focusing on improving the play-action game. As a Viking Dobbs has averaged just 4.8 yards per attempt on play-action passes (per PFF) and he’s produced just six first downs on 34 play-action drop-backs. In Arizona he was picking up 7.5 yards per play-action pass. Likewise the screen game has been nothing short of miserable, gaining 3.6 yards per attempt on jus seven attempts. He’s 29th in screen yards since joining Minnesota.
“I think we have identified some things that are better for the personnel we have at the moment and some things that maybe we want to stay away from,” Phillips said.
That will require balance. It might also not be possible to have the perfect formula for a quarterback whose career QB rating is 78.6. The formula may just have to be throwing the ball in JJ’s direction. Kirk Cousins’ rating when throwing to Jefferson since he joined the Vikings is 113.4.
“He gets open and he’s got great range to go get the ball,” Phillips said of Jefferson. “He’s tough over the middle, he’s got great transition. It makes it a lot easier for the QB.”
