EAGAN, Minn. — The film pauses, and Keenan McCardell uses a green laser pointer to circle a New Orleans Saints defender on the projector in front of him.“At the time,” McCardell says, “this was a matchup.”It’s the week before the 2026 season, and McCardell, the Minnesota Vikings’ wide receivers coach, is acing the assignment. I want to know what impresses him most about superstar receiver Justin Jefferson, his longtime pupil. What clips would he, a two-time Pro Bowler for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, show to introduce Jefferson’s exceptionalism to the average fan?He has been going for more than 15 minutes. But now he is spotlighting former Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore from a 2022 game in London.“He doesn’t ever talk about these matchups,” I say.“We don’t talk about them,” McCardell says. “Ever.”Why?“They’re just X’s,” McCardell says. “I never talk about them. In my room, it’s never, ‘All right, you’re facing such and such.’”Once more, McCardell outlines Lattimore on the screen with his laser pointer.“Look at his technique,” McCardell says. “Beat his technique. Counter his technique. Don’t give them power. You’ve got the power.”Did you learn that somewhere?“That’s just how I played,” McCardell says. “It’s just how we go about it. Growing up, being a receiver, I always felt like I was in control of where I put the defensive back. I always used to say, ‘I can put the DB wherever I need him to be so that I can get open.’ That was my mindset. If you’re a dominant receiver, dominant route runner, that’s the mindset you’ve got to have.”He’s standing up inside the Vikings’ receivers room, cosplaying his former career. He crouches. His eyes squint, almost as if he’s transported to a different time.“If the guy has inside leverage,” McCardell says, “I’ve got to take it away from him. Because that’s where we need to go. And that’s where we’re going to go. Some way, somehow. That’s how we talk in this room. I don’t care who we’re playing. It can be anybody. That’s how it was.”He returns to his spot sitting atop a desk and eyes the screen once more.“For Justin, that’s how it is.”Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell was happy to discuss what makes Justin Jefferson so good. (Alec Lewis / The Athletic)McCardell begins with a 2021 matchup with the Detroit Lions. He wants to start with Jefferson’s route-running creativity.Because McCardell himself went from being a 12th-round pick to a 16-year NFL veteran — and because his savvy helped him overcome subpar speed — fluidity and suddenness inform his receiver evaluations.“When I’m watching a guy, it’s always, ‘Is he fluid? Or is he tight?’” McCardell says. “Everything about what Justin does is really super fluid.”Jefferson flows up the field with a trademark naturalness. McCardell compares Jefferson’s movements to rippling water. At times, McCardell feels it’s his job to give Jefferson guardrails. There is a balance between Jefferson’s playground style and the requirements of a detailed offense built on rhythm and timing.McCardell pinpoints a crossing route. Here, against the Lions, Jefferson displaces the cornerback off the line of scrimmage. Rather than immediately running toward his destination on the opposite side of the field, Jefferson jabs at the defender to create even more separation.Is that something he has to do?McCardell’s mouth peels, a wry smile forming. This is where artistry intersects with convention. Sometimes, allowing someone to bend the rules is necessary to provide them with a platform to showcase their fullest self.“Like, this is part of who he is,” McCardell says. “A lot of times, on a certain route, I don’t need too much of the sauce. I tell him, ‘Leave the Tabasco where it’s at.”I’m sure there is a balance with that.“Oh, yeah,” McCardell says. “A real good balance. I didn’t have his speed, so I was always trying to get to a spot. With him, he has the speed and the sauce. He thinks he needs to nod this guy, which is a little extra, but it also creates more space, so I understand why he did it.”