When the Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Josh Dobbs in a last-minute trade deadline deal with the Arizona Cardinals in late October, no one knew what to expect.
Would Dobbs start in place of the injured Kirk Cousins? Would he serve in a reserve role? How would he be able to learn a new playbook so quickly?
Well, Dobbs immediately answered the call, leading Minnesota to a pair of wins in his first two starts with the club. He has hit a bit of a rough patch since, losing two straight games and throwing two touchdowns and five interceptions in those contests, but the good news is that Dobbs will have another weapon in his arsenal when the Vikings take on the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday: Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson has been sidelined for the last seven games due to a hamstring injury, so Dobbs has not gotten the chance to throw to him just yet. But he will get that opportunity this weekend, and Jefferson is excited for it.
“It’s an extra thing the defense has to be aware of,” Jefferson said, via Carmen Vitali of Fox Sports. “Not only do you have to worry about our receivers and tight ends and backs, but you also have to worry about a quarterback that’s running and able to be mobile. It’s a lot of weapons on the field.”
Before going down with the injury in Week 5, Jefferson had logged 36 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
Jefferson, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was selected by Minnesota with the 22nd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He immediately established himself as one of the league’s best wide outs during his rookie campaign, catching 88 passes for 1,400 yards and seven scores. He followed that up by snaring 108 balls for 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns in his second season, and last year, Justin Jefferson put forth his best act yet, leading the NFL in both receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) while reaching the end zone eight times.
The 24-year-old has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. He earned a First-Team All-Pro selection last year.
The Vikings are 6-6 on the season.
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