The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t believe their luck when the Philadelphia Eagles passed on Justin Jefferson in the 2020 NFL Draft.
That year’s class was loaded with top quarterback talent, including first-round picks Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert.
GettyJustin Jefferson is probably the best WR in football[/caption]
It was the league’s first ever virtual draft due to COVID-19 and the Eagles made an unfortunate mistake by passing on arguably the best receiver in the NFL right now.
Instead, Philadelphia decided to take Jalen Reagor with the 21st pick — much to the excitement of the Vikings‘ front office.
Footage of delighted Minnesota execs Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer laughing soon went viral.
“Get Justin Jefferson on the clock right now,” exclaimed Spielman.
Perhaps due to the Reagor blunder, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has now shifted focus to adding massive stars for the offensive and defensive lines in the Draft.
“I think one of my many weaknesses, is that I spend more time thinking about my mistakes than I do any of the successes we may have had,” Roseman told Angelo Cataldi on the 94WIP Morning Show.
“I think it continuously motivates me to get better. Whenever we do something like that, I go back and I look at the process and how we came to that decision.
“It’s obvious, I’m not going to sit here and lie, we’d love to have that moment back. I believe that all of these moments, they lead to where you’re getting.
“Like I feel like when we won a World Championship there were some mistakes made in that process, but they lead us to get to where we want to be. I can’t go back in time and change it, all I can do is to try and learn from it and get better.”
Jefferson was the fifth WR drafted in 2020 behind Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Reagor.
The Vikings probably didn’t expect a gem like Jefferson to still be on the board by the time the 21st pick came around but the Eagles’ blunder meant JJ landed right in their laps.
Reagor played receiver at TCU and finished with 2,248 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns over three years.
Meanwhile, LSU standout Jefferson had 2,415 receiving yards and 24 career touchdowns — but he did it in two years.
However, since making it to the pros their careers have had completely different trajectories.
Reagor spent just one year with the Eagles, briefly joined the Vikings and is currently with the Los Angeles Chargers after struggling to make an impact with the New England Patriots.
Jefferson is a four-time Pro Bowler and has the most receiving yards through a player’s first five seasons.
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In 2022, at the age of 23, he won the Offensive Player of the Year award and became the youngest player to lead the league in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809).
The Eagles’ loss was the Vikings gain and even Jefferson feels a tinge of sadness for the man selected ahead of him.
“I hate it for him, being compared to me all the time,” he said.
Philly did have the last laugh after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl in February.
The Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round after going 14-3 in the regular season.
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