Jefferson earned the Korey Stringer Media Award after navigating a frustrating season with poise and accountability.
The 2025 season has been tough for the entire Minnesota Vikings organization. They've been eliminated from the playoffs since Week 15, due in large part to inconsistency at the quarterback position.
Perhaps no one has been affected more than Justin Jefferson. Even though he has played in all 16 games this season, he has caught 76 passes for a career-low 947 yards and two touchdowns.
Yet there have been no sideline outbursts or public comments in which he's thrown coaches or teammates under the bus. He hasn't even shared cryptic posts on social media to voice his displeasure with the 31st-ranked passing attack subtly.
That's not a product of being unavailable to the media. He has made every mid-week press conference and all but one post-game meeting with reporters. His lone absence was in Seattle, where he was held to two receptions for four yards in a 26-0 loss.
Even then, he cleared the air a few days later when he met with the media, saying that emotions were too high to give the same answer he felt he had been sharing for weeks.
"We lost, and obviously, I just feel like it's the same thing," Jefferson said four days after the loss. "I'm going to be sitting there telling you guys the same exact thing that I've said for the past couple weeks.
"The offense needs to get better, and we need to focus [and] execute and all of the things that we've been saying the whole season.
"So, I knew I was going to talk to you guys today. Just the frustration and the emotions [were] high after the game."
How he has handled the circumstances of the season has been a stark contrast to what we've grown accustomed to with other star wideouts through the years. In Minnesota, we've seen Randy Moss and Stefon Diggs force their way out of town in the prime of their career. On- and off-field antics made them more trouble than they were worth.
Jefferson has instead taken the high road, doing more than just going through the motions. He has taken his role as a leader seriously with teammates while also treating the media with respect.
On Thursday, he was officially recognized for it.
The Twin Cities Pro Football Writers of America gave Jefferson the Korey Stringer Media Good Guy Award. The award was presented to him just before his weekly press conference.
It's the second time Jefferson has won the award (2021). He joins former quarterback Daunte Culpepper and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn as the only Vikings to win the award twice.
Jefferson won't have any postseason accolades for 2025. He needs 53 yards this Sunday to reach 1,000 for the season.
However, his professionalism and leadership have been on display for everyone to see, even when it would be understandable for him to have the occasional outburst. He's been one of the best receivers in football since being drafted in 2020, making it that much more challenging to see his production dip this season.
But sometimes it takes humbling experiences to grow in life. Jefferson has had plenty of individual success throughout his NFL career, but this season hasn't even given him that. That should have him more motivated than ever as he enters the 2026 offseason.
And if the Vikings bounce back next year with a high-flying offense, no one will deserve it more than Jefferson.