Justin Jefferson vs. Davante Adams: Who Has More Receiving Yards?

Believe it or not, the 2021 NFL season is fast-approaching.

One of the most interesting divisions to keep an eye on this year is the NFC North. We’re through the first week of July, and we still don’t know if NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will be returning to the Green Bay Packers, traded to a different team, or if he’s going to sit out for the season and possibly call it a career.

Rodgers aside, the division will feature two of the top playmakers in the NFL in Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams. The two receivers finished fourth and fifth in the league in receiving yards last season, as Jefferson finish with 1,400 in his rookie campaign and Adams was right behind him with 1,374.

So which of the two NFC North products will finish with more receiving yards in 2021?

WynnBET has released odds to lead the NFL in each major category this season, and it has Adams as a slight favorite of Jefferson. The Packers receiver is listed at +1200 odds to be the league’s top receiver, and the Minnesota Vikings wideout is listed at +1400.

The top three players on the listed are Deandre Hopkins (+750), Stefon Diggs (+800), and Calvin Ridley (+1000).

Despite being Rodgers’ top target in Green Bay for a number of seasons, Adams has yet to lead the league in receiving yards. He did, however, lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns last season with 18, as well as yards per game with 98.1. A big reason why he hasn’t led the league in receiving yards in his career is that he’s only played a full 16-game slate once, and that came in 2016.

If Adams can manage to stay healthy for the new 17-game schedule that the NFL has implemented for 2021, and if Rodgers returns to the Packers for another season, expect Adams to once again be one of the top playmakers in the league.

Jefferson, on the other hand, has the advantage of youth on his side. In what was one of the top draft classes for wide receivers in recent history, Jefferson emerged with the best rookie season of all of them.

Despite not starting the first two games of the season, and only grabbing a combined five receptions in the first two weeks, Jefferson quickly surpassed Adam Thielen as the top target in Minnesota on his way to being named second-team All-Pro.

Adams will have the quarterback if Rodgers returns to Green Bay, but that’s a big if. With a question mark at quarterback and a history of nagging injuries, I think Jefferson will emerge as the top receiver in the NFC North this season and I’d be looking at him as a solid value bet to lead the NFL in receiving yards in 2021 at +1400 odds.