Justin Jefferson revealed that Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell had somewhat simplified the team’s offensive scheme during their mini-bye week after their Week 8 loss to the Los Angeles Rams ahead of a Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Some of these adjustments were made to help the Vikings commit fewer self-inflicted injuries on the offensive side of the ball, such as pre-snap penalties, and to make the scheme easier for rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.

Since the changes were made before Week 9, Minnesota’s offense has committed fewer penalties, and Darnold has performed better when it comes to distributing the ball among several pass-catchers.

But these adjustments have also caused Jefferson to have less pre-snap motion and fewer snaps in the slot, which appears to be reducing his chances of having an impact over the past several weeks.

To get the most out of Justin Jefferson, the Minnesota Vikings offense must engage in intricate and controlled tactics.

Pamela Maldonado of SharpFootballAnalysis.com reports that during the first eight weeks of the 2024 season, the Vikings used pre-snap motion on 67 percent of their plays. That pre-snap motion frequency fell to 54% in the three games from Week 9 to Week 11.

Additionally, according to PFF data, during the first eight weeks of the season, Jefferson lined up in the slot for 25.2% of his snaps. However, the star receiver’s slot usage dropped to 15% in the four games since the changes were made prior to Minnesota’s Week 9 showdown.

Not surprisingly, Jefferson’s performance in the Vikings’ most recent games has suffered as a result of these adjustments.

Minnesota’s All-Pro receiver averaged 5.9 receptions and 92.3 receiving yards per game from Week 1 to Week 8, catching five touchdowns in all. Jefferson has been averaging five catches and 73.3 yards per game since Week 9, but he hasn’t hit the end zone once.

Does the Vikings’ premier receiver receive a lot of attention from opposing defenders every week? Yes, but that isn’t very novel. What has changed is that over the past few weeks, Minnesota has relied more on Jefferson to open himself and less on plotting to do so.

Even though Jefferson is a very gifted wide receiver, he can only do so much on his own when trying to get open while opposing teams are consistently double and triple covering him.

Since the recent adjustments have undoubtedly improved the Vikings’ offense’s overall effectiveness, the challenging aspect is figuring out how to return to some of the earlier strategies to get him open without making the offense too complicated once more.

However, Jefferson is an offensive weapon that should be utilized for purposes other than distracting other pass-catchers in Minnesota. O’Connell must therefore find a way to strike a balance between the Vikings’ more subdued offensive style and the one they were using in the first half of the season.

If he succeeds, opposition teams will probably have even more difficulty stopping Minnesota’s attack than they had throughout the entire season. However, this is easier said than done.