Justin Jefferson on His Desire to Win, Motivation to Play Better, Relationship with J.J. McCarthy

Justin Jefferson on His Desire to Win, Motivation to Play Better, Relationship with J.J. McCarthy

Good afternoon, Justin. When you said you wanted to get back to year three Jets, what did you mean by that? Yeah, uh just the the big, you know, plays. Uh, of course, that year I had the uh offensive player of the year. Um, you know, just uh just different moments in that season. I felt like I was just on a different level. So, uh, just, uh, trying to work back into that, you know, the feeling of, uh, being out there on Sundays and, uh, going out there and just killing it, whoever is in front of me. Uh, so just having that mentality back, uh, and just, you know, being back to my old self. Do you not feel five wasn’t like that? You had,500 yards. I mean, I guess you can look at it and and see every year is, you know, a spectacular year for me, but I feel like that year was just, uh, you know, a different year just, uh, of course with the amount of close wins that we had that year, uh, that adversity that we had and, uh, just overcoming that adversity. Uh, I I felt like that year was a special year personally for for myself. getting back to your three jets, you know, under your control and stuff that’s out of your control. Yeah, that’s a great question. Uh, I mean, I only can control the things that I can control. Uh, and personally, mentally uh just wanting to get back into that mode into uh I like to say savage mode. So, uh I mean it’s just going out there with that uh effort mentality and just going out there and just killing it. uh and and not worrying about the plays, not worrying about uh anything else that I just like you said can’t control. Uh just doing everything that I can’t control and uh making the most of my opportunities. Why do you think you haven’t been in that mode if you have um life? Um, you know, just different things going on in my life and uh just wanting to get back to that that kid phase of uh loving I still love football but uh overly loving football and overly loving uh just being out there on Sundays and uh making the big plays and uh just being a part of of this great organization. So, uh just wanting to get back mentally uh into that into that mode. When did you come to that realization? Say it again. When did you come to that realization that you want to get back to that? I mean, honestly, seeing the post, seeing the post and seeing the uh seeing the plays and uh you know, just just having flashbacks of being uh in that moment, you know, um with with with football, everything flies by so fast and you kind of uh you know, miss the moments that that you kind of have during that time and during that moment. Uh so just you know looking back on it and uh of course thinking about all the the success that we had during that season, the success uh personally that I had, you know, the the player of the year, play of the year, uh just all of that stuff going on during that season. Uh so that’s pretty much was the main the main thing. there was a fair bit of discussion about your game the other day and you know body language and what after the interceptions in particular like how do you kind of think back over that game not just those plays but just the overall performance by you in that game? Yeah. Um I mean I feel like uh it definitely wasn’t, you know, one of my best games. Uh but I I would say I want to win. It’s not really uh you know I’m not really mad at the the situation that I’m in or I’m not mad at um you know the the players that we have or the plays that’s being called. Uh of course I’m mad after interception. You know that’s you want me to be happy and go chase them down. That’s not really something that you know that’s not really something I want to happen. And uh of course the outcome of the game is us losing. So, uh, and and I was I was the one that’s getting thrown that ball and, you know, it’s getting picked off. So, uh, a lot of emotion goes into towards that, but at the end of the day, I want to win and I’m an ultra competitor and a lot of people that don’t play this game and don’t play sports don’t understand the competitive side of it. So, uh, yeah, I want to win and, uh, emotionally things things get heated sometimes, you know, so and things weren’t going our way at that at that moment. So, uh, just want a better outcome and, uh, of course, uh, the the offense that we have, I feel like we should be playing better than what we are. Justin, what have your conversations with JJ McCarthy been like this week? Say it again. What have your conversations with JJ been like this week? Uh, the same conversations we’ve been having before. Uh, continue to be yourself, continue to have that confidence. Uh, and and don’t really overthink things. uh even though things are not going uh the greatest for us and uh we’re still figuring out some things, uh don’t let that kind of hinder your play or uh get in the way of you making the right reads or making uh the proper plays. Uh cuz he’s a great player, he’s a great quarterback, he’s a great kid. Uh so at the end of the day, it’s just all about going out there and just relying on everybody uh to do their jobs and just going out there and just doing it. Um, and you know, of course, you know, people get involved with the the media and, you know, hear so much different negativity, um, you know, out in the world. So, I’m always going to be that person for JJ uh, to always lean on and talk to, uh, about any of that type of stuff. And I’m always going to be that person to motivate him to always continue to be better uh, regardless if he’s my quarterback or not. Uh, I I I like JJ. I love JJ as a person and as a player. So, uh, I will continue to, you know, strive for that and, uh, I I want the best, you know, outcome for him. Because he’s the first young quarterback, younger, youngest quarterback you’ve had in the NFL. Has your role changed at all as far as that? Oh, yeah. Of course. Of course it has changed. You know, um, I feel like any any person that’s a part of a offense that, you know, have have a new quarterback, it doesn’t matter if, you know, he’s a 10ear vet or if he’s a a secondyear quarterback. You know, I’m I’m always going to try to uh better myself and better our relationship. uh in any type of way that I can. If it’s out there on the field catching catching routes and uh you know dialing up the connection and the timing of routes, uh or if it’s just talking ball and talking about the plays, talking about uh what we want to see on the field and what we want to do on the field. Uh all of that, you know, is is something that you have to do uh if you want that top tier connection. Maybe I’m asking the wrong guy, but did you ever feel the other day they targeted you too much? In other words, there he was so determined to get you the ball and get you involved in the offense that the play wasn’t there and you were bracketed things like that, but he was so determined to try to get you involved. Uh, I would never complain about targets. Uh, that’s something I would never complain about. Uh, I mean I and I always say it it doesn’t really matter about the coverage, doesn’t really matter about the the uh the the bracket coverage or if it’s uh, you know, one-on-one, I’m always confident in myself to to make the play. Uh, so as long as that ball is is hitting my hands and uh you know I’m having a a great chance at at making the play, then I always feel confident in JJ throwing me up that rock and let me make the most of the opportunity. You talk about that kid-like joy. Like do you feel like you’ve lost any of that? I wouldn’t say I lost it, but uh of course it’s a little bit difficult when teams play me the way they have been playing me. Uh I don’t have those one-on-one coverages as much as I used to. Uh, and that’s probably why I miss year three Jets, you know, cuz I’m I’m having a little bit less uh double coverages and uh a lot le, you know, less attention then than than uh of course now. So, uh I guess you can say that kind of takes away uh a little bit of the joy, but I still love going out there and playing football. I still love waking up uh every single day and coming here uh and doing this job. I love this job and I love being here with these guys uh being here with this organization. Uh, so there’s definitely a lot of great things to be grateful for and uh to be happy about. Uh, I’m just an ultra competitor and and I hate to lose at the end of the day. So, uh, I mean, on Sundays, you know, it’s a it’s a whole different mode and, uh, at the end of the day, I want to win. So, uh, whatever whatever, however that looks like, uh, we got to get the job done. Justin, you’ve been through this with a number of young or new quarterbacks at this point, but how long does it take a quarterback to get used to the way teams cover you and figure out how to get you the ball when the coverages are different than what they might see otherwise? Yeah. Uh, that’s that’s a great question. Um, it it depends, you know, it depends on the quarterback, depends on um, you know, how fast they get to to read it. You know, some some people are different than others. uh and you know with a a new quarterback and uh obviously they JJ hasn’t played with anyone with as much as attention that I’m getting. Uh and and then he’s in the league also. So uh I mean it takes some time to to figure those things out. Uh I mean Kirk, you know, had to take time figuring that out as well. Sam had to take time uh figuring that out as well. So uh I mean this this job is hard, you know, especially at quarterback, you know. So, uh, it the connection will continue to grow and, uh, to continue to get better. Uh, but I feel like as long as JJ’s confidence is still there and, uh, he still has that motivation to go out there and lead us and, uh, do the things that we expect him to do, uh, everything will fall in place. Coverage on you. Is there anything they can do to get one-on-one for you schematically? If other guys make plays, is there anything you guys can do to force that issue? Yeah. No. Uh, I mean, I feel like, uh, it doesn’t really matter, uh, about if they’re making plays or not. I feel like the main objective for them is to make me not, you know, beat them, to make me not have a good game. Uh, cuz everybody knows the ball is going to come to me some point of time. Uh, so I feel like the the well, what I’m hearing from other, you know, defensive coordinators and, uh, other players, uh, the main objective is to keep me out the game as much as possible, uh, and let everybody else beat us. Uh but you know looking if you look on film and you look at the the the plays that we run and uh the routes that we run uh JA has been open plenty of times and uh Speedy has been open plenty of times. So we just got to find a way to you know execute all 11 and uh get us the ball and let us go work. Uh so it’s just all about you know execution at the end of the day. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson addressed the media ahead of the Week 11 matchup against the Chicago Bears in the 2025 NFL regular season.

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