The Minnesota Vikings need Justin Jefferson this season more than anybody else on their roster. He’s their most prized asset and this was made quite obvious when he missed time last season with a significant hamstring injury.

The Vikings looked like a completely different team when Jefferson was missing. They showed their commitment to him by inking him to a huge four-year, $140 million contract. He’s one of, if not the single most talented offensive weapon in the entire league and the Vikings are committing to pay him as such, especially with the departure of their quarterback Kirk Cousins over the last few months.

As rookie J.J. McCarthy is attempting to earn his spot at the top of the depth chart, he’s going to need Jefferson if he wants to be successful. That means the Vikings need to keep him healthy at all costs.

Last week, Jefferson was sat out of practice on Wednesday as well as Thursday during the team’s group off day. This gave Jefferson two days off in a row. When he returned to practice, he didn’t shy away from the fact that the team is doing all they can to keep him healthy this year.

“I’m so scared for it to happen again that I’ve been overly cautious about it,” Jefferson said, h/t ESPN. “…just trying to take care of my body in the right way, just trying to find new things that I can implement in my day-to-day life that can better help me throughout the season. I’ve definitely been working on my hamstrings a little bit more, making sure that I’m injury-proof.”

The best ability is availabilty after all.

Jefferson, 25, is a unique talent that has the potential to become the first receiver in league history to crack 2000 single season receiving yards if he can stay healthy and get consistent quarterback play.

Despite playing just 10 games last year, Jefferson still broke 1000 receiving yards on the year, good for over 100 per game. The last time he was fully healthy, he totaled over 1800 yards and 10 touchdowns with Kirk Cousins at the helm. He won the AP Offensive Player of the Year and was named a first team All-Pro.

The idea of keeping Jefferson healthy is crucial to the Vikings. There’s nobody more valuable to the team, even the quarterbacks, than Jefferson is. He has the ability to make McCarthy’s transition from College to the Pros much easier than it could be.