Justin Jefferson is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, but it is hard to tell that by looking at his statistics during the 2026 NFL season. The superstar Vikings pass-catcher isn't getting the type of use that allows him to match the production of the league's leading wideouts.

Heading into Week 8's clash with the rival Lions, Jefferson has played in five games for the Vikings this season, logging 23 catches on 31 targets for 302 yards and three touchdowns. His 6.2 targets per game rank him 45th in the league, which is concerning for a player of his value. It's not too dissimilar to the situation that Garett Wilson is going through with the Jets.

Part of the problem is that Minnesota ranks 31st in the league in pass attempts per game. The only team that passes the ball fewer than 27.3 times per game is the Dolphins, who throw 25.2 times per game.

Something needs to change—and soon—if the Vikings want to unleash their star playmaker and firmly cement themselves in the Super Bowl conversations.

Vikings need to feed Justin Jefferson the ball moving forward

Vikings quarterbacks throwing the ball to Jefferson 22.7% of the time sounds good. That rate is fairly close to players like Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 25.7% and Rams pass-catcher star Puka Nacua at 22.1%. That shows that it's the volume, not the rate, that is the problem.

In a passing league, the Vikings run the ball at a higher rate than every other team except the Dolphins. Minnesota passes 50.14% of the time, keeping a fairly even mix of pass and run plays to keep opposing defenses guessing.

However, when you have weapons like Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and others, it could pay dividends to pass the ball more often. Fans and the media would definitely like more passes to be thrown.

In particular, they should be thrown to Jefferson. According to StatMuse, the Vikings are 39-28 (58.2%) in games where he sees eight-plus targets, 25-20 (55.6%) in games of 10-plus targets and 14-9 (60.9%) in contests of 12 targets or more.

On Thursday, Vikings starting quarterback Kyler Murray was asked about getting the ball to Jefferson more frequently, according to Yahoo Sports' Hayden Winks. His reply made it sound as though he is already working on making that happen.

"At the end of the day, obviously everyone wants to give him the ball. And it will happen."

Kyler Murray on Justin Jefferson

This increased use of Jefferson has to start against the Lions in Week 8. Fortunately, he hasn't had more success against anyone else, recording his most receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,285) in 12 all-time meetings with Detroit.

The Vikings have been able to rely on their defense and special teams to win games, but Minnesota is going to need to put points on the board on Sunday to beat their division opponent. Getting their star wideout more involved is a great way to make that happen, as well as help widen the gap in the NFC North.