Vikings: Justin Jefferson is easy to root for in Netflix show ‘Receiver’

Justin Jefferson: 'I want to be the best player to ever do it'

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson met the media before mandatory mini camp on Tuesday at TCO Performance Center after agreeing to a $140 million contract extension to stay in Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings report to training camp early next week, but we recently got a behind-the-scenes look at star receiver Justin Jefferson in the Netflix show "Receiver."

He’s already a fan-favorite and the face of the team but it’s even easier to root for Jefferson after watching the Netflix docuseries.

It starts with Jefferson giving cameras an MTV Cribs-style look inside his Twin Cities home, and mainly, his favorite jewelry. We see his first real adversity as a football player after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs that put him on injured reserve. He missed seven straight games.

We see his recovery process, which includes rehab in the training room and running in the pool. We see him supporting his Vikings’ teammates from the sideline through every game he had to miss, though it had to be eating at him that he couldn’t play. That includes putting a diamond "SC Top 10" chain on Kirk Cousins after a win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

Jefferson eventually returns Week 14 at the Las Vegas Raiders, but it lasts just 12 plays. He makes a catch and takes a big hit from former Vikings’ safety Marcus Epps. Jefferson goes to the sideline and is coughing up blood. Team trainers evaluate him, and he’s taken to a hospital. It got chalked up to a good scare, and nothing serious.

Rumors swirled that Jefferson would slow play his return from a hamstring injury, and may not come back at all, if the Vikings were not in playoff contention as he sought a new contract. He immediately shot down that notion in a scene where he’s driving to the team facility.

The series ends for Jefferson with a few touching moments. After a loss at Detroit to end the season, he brings a young Vikings’ fan to tears after signing his poster.

In an exit meeting with Kevin O’Connell, the two go over a frustrating season due to his injuries. Jefferson tells him, "Whatever you need, I got you." Then just before the start of mandatory mini camp, O’Connell welcomes him with open arms after the Vikings and Jefferson agreed to a four-year, $140 million contract that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Entering his fifth season with the Vikings, Jefferson has said and done all the right things, on and off the field. He’s an easy guy to root for.