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Lunchbreak: NFL.com Makes 'Bold Prediction' for Justin Jefferson in 2023

It's bold prediction season.

NFL.com annually rolls out bold predictions for the upcoming season, and Adam Schein posted them Wednesday.

Among the nine predictions was one that will certainly pique Vikings fans' interests: Justin Jefferson makes NFL history as first 2,000-yard receiver. Shein wrote:

No wide receiver has ever hit 2K. Calvin Johnson's come the closest, posting an NFL-record 1,964 yards in 2012. Nine years later, Cooper Kupp reached 1,947 yards. In 2023, Jefferson makes history.

Shoot, it's just the natural progression of Jefferson's NFL production, from 1,400 yards in Year 1 to 1,616 yards in Year 2 to 1,809 yards last season. To reach 2,000, he needs to average just under 118 yards over 17 games. Jefferson is the kind of unstoppable force who can make that happen, especially in Year 2 of Kevin O'Connell's offense. And his new WR running mate in Jordan Addison – Minnesota's first-round pick in April – will help the cause by commanding more attention than the Vikings complementary targets last season.

The Griddy will be on full display in 2023, with No. 18 dancing his way into the record books.

Schein's projection for Jefferson was the only Vikings-related bold prediction, but it wasn't the only one out of the NFC North. Schein's fourth hot take was that Green Bay will post the second-worst record in the league.

Imagine telling Packers fans a few years ago that Green Bay would trade Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers in back-to-back offseasons. WOOF. This all-time talent drain will ultimately lead to a long 2023 in Titletown.

Packers [Head Coach] Matt LaFleur is already preaching patience with Jordan Love. That underscores my worst fears about a quarterback who seemed like a reach as a first-round pick: At best, Love is green; at worst, he's inept. Green Bay's fragile offensive line sure doesn't ease concerns, either. And [Defensive Coordinator] Joe Barry's defense took a step back in 2022.

The 2022 Packers were eliminated from the postseason in the NFL's regular-season finale. The 2023 Packers will be cooked in November.

View the best photos of Vikings WR Justin Jefferson during the 2022 season.

On the other end of the spectrum, Shein predicted the Saints to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed. He said that "on paper, the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys are better than the Saints" but noted that New Orleans "has a spectacularly favorable schedule."

New quarterback Derek Carr is going to have a huge bounce-back season in the Big Easy. It's why I picked New Orleans as my Cinderella team of 2023 back in March. And as time has gone on, I've become even more bullish on these Saints. If Carr gets a healthy Michael Thomas across from second-year stud Chris Olave, this offense can fly. Dennis Allen's defense remains stout – and could be a true force with better injury luck than last season.

NFL boosting support to prevent sports cardiac arrest death in wake of Damar Hamlin collapse

Damar Hamlin returning to the football field is, in a word, miraculous.

Hamlin collapsed on the field last season after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Bills game against the Bengals. Hamlin was resuscitated on the field, was hospitalized and eventually went on to make a full recovery.

ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg wrote that in the wake of the Hamlin incident, the NFL is "growing its coalition of sports organizations and medical and advocacy groups and expanding its work to help prevent fatalities from cardiac arrest."

According to Getzenberg, the league announced that it's expanding The Smart Hearts Sports Coalition to include 15 new members, which brings the total to 26. She wrote:

New members include the WNBA, National Women's Soccer League, United States Tennis Association and National Council of Youth Sports. The coalition, which also includes Hamlin's Chasing M's Foundation, was initially announced during the NFL owners meetings in March.

[…]

The NFL Foundation also is launching its CPR education grant later this month, which will make $20,000 available to all 32 teams. Up to $15,000 will go to funding for CPR education and up to $5,000 for AEDs for high school sports teams. [NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna] Isaacson said the goal for the rest of the funds, totaling $1 million, is to make sure the league is supporting areas of the country outside of NFL markets.

"One of the sort of silver linings of what ends up happening in these national moments is that you end up educating millions of people," Isaacson told ESPN. "What we do here at the league is sort of say, 'OK, like that was a really, a frightening moment, a scary moment and an unreal, surreal moment, but what good can come from that now that everybody is talking about this?' "

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