NFL Star Goes Undercover as a Nature Photographer

Wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings Justin Jefferson has gone undercover as a nature photographer for a show on Amazon Prime.

The Undercovers is a prank reality series on Prime Video presented by Eli Manning that features NFL players going undercover to trick fans and teammates. For the latest episode, Jefferson disguises himself as a wildlife photographer.

In a clip shared to YouTube, Jefferson goes to a flag football community league event. But first, Jefferson, a fashionable 26-year-old, must transform himself into a nature photographer. This apparently involves “taking a bit off his swag.”

Once Jefferson has put on a pair of khaki trousers, a vest jacket with dozens of pockets, and a fisherman’s bucket hat, he then adds some prosthetics to his face so that he’s not recognized in Minnesota — where he’s adored — and he is transformed into a nature twitcher.

But as well as looking the part, Jefferson has to know his stuff. So before he’s let loose, he learns what Minnesota’s state bird is: it’s the common loon. He also learns that the Norway pine is Minnesota’s state tree.

In another clip, Jefferson pranks Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after he is tasked with taking a headshot of the big boss. The wide receiver drops in his knowledge of Minnesota’s wildlife so that Adofo-Mensah buys it.

Jefferson shows Adofo-Mensah his underexposed, terrible photos. And yet, the GM still doesn’t twig that he’s being photographed by his own superstar. Only when the two shake hands at the end of the shoot and Adofo-Mensah gets up close to Jefferson does he realize the prank.

It seems like Jefferson might be more interested in becoming an actor than a photographer. But if he were to pick up the camera, he certainly wouldn’t be the first football player to do so. Retired NFL star Marshawn Lynch recently made a surprise return to the field in Seattle while wearing a photographer’s vest.

Fans quickly noticed “Beast Mode” back in action when Seahawks rookie George Holani scored a touchdown and nearly collided with him. Lynch instinctively threw up an elbow to protect his camera, much to the amusement of fans.

Image credits: Amazon Prime