On Monday’s, Saints coach Sean Payton looks at a highlight reel of every touchdown scored over the weekend. The clips start with scores from the 1-yard line and end with that week’s longest touchdown.
“When you watch that reel you get used to seeing certain people in the endzone,“ Payton said.
One of the players Payton has gotten used to seeing in reel is former LSU start Justin Jefferson who the Saints will face on Christmas Day when they host the Minnesota Vikings at 3;30 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Jefferson is enjoying a stellar rookie season that’s seen him break Vikings team rookie records set by NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss in 1998 with 73 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns.
The former Destrehan standout has earned a Pro Bowl selection for his performance this season.
“I would say it’s a pretty hard thing to do at receiver considering, just look around the NFC,” Payton said. “He’s savy. He’s smart. He’s long. He can run. I think he’s got really good hands in traffic and I think you see, along with his skillset, I think you see, for a young player, someone that has very good football instincts. He’s fun to watch.”
Jefferson has certainly been fun to watch for Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff.
“He loves football and so he works really hard at it,” Zimmer said. “He runs good routes, catches the ball really well, I’m very impressed with his contested catch ability. He’s got size and he’s just been really good for us.”
Payton said Jefferson’s performance this season which includes being tied with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for the NFL lead in receptions of 20-plus yards, hasn’t come as a surprise as the Saints had his draft grades on the standout.
“What couldn't you like about the offense?,” Payton said. “It's impressive (and credit) to Ed (Orgeron) and his staff and all of those guys. When you get scheme and talent together, you obviously have something. You're looking at the runner, you're looking at the QB, you're looking at the receivers. Now he played a lot of the slot in their one back system and you're seeing him, obviously, in pro personnel now, and they're in a lot of two receiver sets. But yeah, he's having a fantastic rookie year, and made the Pro Bowl in his first year. He's impressive to watch."