One receiver — Justin Jefferson — accounted for almost 40% of the Minnesota Vikings‘ passing output in 2022. Jefferson is elite, but even he can’t do everything himself. In Jordan Addison, did the Vikings find the complementary threat they needed? And just how high is this duo’s ceiling?
Vikings Relieve Pressure for Justin Jefferson at WR in 2023 NFL Draft
Jefferson took the league’s “most dominating WR” label in 2022. A year after Cooper Kupp racked up eye-popping numbers for the Los Angeles Rams, Jefferson flirted with the NFL record for receiving yards in a season.
He’d end up falling well short of the record mark after a lull at the season’s conclusion, but Jefferson still put up monster numbers: 128 catches for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark in 10 separate games, and he ultimately earned first-team All-Pro recognition for his production.
Jefferson no doubt distinguished himself as a nearly unstoppable offensive juggernaut, who’s still just now entering his prime at nearly 24 years old. But Jefferson’s breakout, interestingly enough, also exposed a flaw in the Vikings’ offense. At times, they relied on their 2020 first-rounder too much.
MORE: FREE Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
Though he never strayed away from being the hot hand for long, there were times when defenses were able to sap at the Vikings’ efficiency and rhythm on offense by double-teaming Jefferson and giving him extra attention.
Minnesota had a few quality pieces in place alongside Jefferson in T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and Adam Thielen, but no one to truly take the pressure off Jefferson and tug the defense away from their star receiver when defenses started to overcorrect. Now, the Vikings might have that kind of player with first-round pick Jordan Addison.
Addison, of course, is best known for winning the 2021 Biletnikoff Award at Pittsburgh, on the receiving end of 100 catches, 1,593 yards, and 17 touchdowns from 2022 first-round QB Kenny Pickett. Addison would leverage that elite production into an opportunity with Caleb Williams at USC, where he again displayed his three-level potential.
Now, after being selected 23rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Addison is a member of the Vikings, where he’ll again be tasked with elevating the passing game. Does he have the skills to be the Robin to Jefferson’s Batman?
How Does Jordan Addison Complement Jefferson With Vikings?
It’s not hard to complement Jefferson because he legitimately brings everything to the table as an offensive threat. It’s rooted in his physical profile. He has great size at 6’1″, 202 pounds, with 33″ arms, and he also has verified speed and explosiveness, with a 4.43 40-yard dash and a 37.5″ vertical. But it also extends beyond that.
Jefferson has the speed and burst to threaten defenses vertically and sustain separation, and he has the elite wingspan and gravity-defying catching instincts to convert when rising vertically. But he’s also a masterful manipulator at stems, an extremely nuanced, versatile separator, and an energetic RAC threat who doesn’t take opportunities in open field for granted.
Jefferson is the full package, and the Vikings use him as such. They move him around the front. They can use him on the boundary, in the slot, or in tight alignments close to the line. He can take designed touches off motions and sweeps, separate independently with a full, expansive route tree, or simply work vertically and use his athleticism to win.
Because of how all-encompassing Jefferson is, both as an athlete and as a football player, there’s very little he cannot do. And that makes it easy to add in a threat like Addison, who can plug in alongside Jefferson in countless ways as well.
Addison’s testing profile throws up more red flags than Jefferson’s did. Addison weighed in notably underweight at 5’11”, 171 pounds, and at that size, he only put up a 4.49 40-yard dash, 34.5″ vertical, and a 10’2″ broad. He also failed to put up elite agility numbers — somewhat of a surprise, given his tape.
But that’s exactly why cross-checking with the tape is important. And in Addison’s case, he shows more vertical burst, speed, and freedom as a short-area mover than his testing would indicate. In fact, his flexibility, short-area twitch, and change of direction are some of his best traits. Not only can he sink, throttle up and down, and manipulate space as a route runner, but he’s also a snake after the catch with his smooth and jittery athleticism.
MORE: Did the Vikings Make An Aggressive Push for Bryce Young Trade?
Addison’s ease of separation, expanded across a vast established route tree, is very appealing. His weight will remain an issue at times, particularly in contested situations and across the middle of the field. But for a smaller receiver, Addison has the instincts and brand of mobility to combat and counteract his size issues, as PFN’s James Fragoza noted in Addison’s scouting report.
“He understands coverages (which is crucial for smaller/slot receivers) and easily finds holes in zone,” Fragoza said of Addison. “Addison hasn’t faced a lot of press, but he has a few nice releases up his sleeve. And although no one will mistake him for a contested-catch monster, he’s impressive at the catch point.”
Ultimately, if you give Addison space to work with, he’s dynamic. And being alongside Jefferson is the perfect situation for Addison to naturally be afforded space by defenses who may have too much to handle. Addison can help Kirk Cousins stay in rhythm with slants, screens, quick outs, and digs, but he also has the vertical ability to generate big plays if given one-on-one chances.
As Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said in a recent press conference, it’s that symbiotic relationship that has the Vikings so excited about the pairing of Jefferson and Addison in the WR room.
“Any receiver that plays in our offense, regardless of our personnel grouping — you’re in a game with Justin Jefferson,” O’Connell said. “For us to have the ability to move him around, and then activate [Addison] against some of the premier coverage looks he can get with how people defend Justin — I think [Addison] gives us the chance to do a lot of different things.”
O’Connell wants to make defenses pay for giving overloaded looks to Jefferson. With Addison, he has the ability to do that. And that added threat of Addison may, in turn, reduce the number of overloaded looks on Jefferson and free him up to make even more plays. It’s essentially a tandem that can put defenses into a painful game of tug-of-war.
O’Connell cited Addison’s efficiency, ability to separate, and ability as a RAC threat as parts of his game that will help produce this effect. And turning back the tape, it’s easy to verify what he’s talking about.
Jordan Addison in the Perfect Situation To Make an Early Impact
My comparison for Addison coming out of the 2023 NFL Draft cycle was Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Mooney has always been a better WR2 than WR1, but in that role, he’s a sparkplug with twitchy separation ability and strong catching instincts for his size, and those traits help him nullify a lighter-than-preferred frame.
Addison didn’t test with quite as much explosiveness as Mooney, but he shows better dynamic athleticism on tape. And ultimately, the same principles apply. Addison’s weight would be a greater concern if he was coming into a situation where he’d be asked to serve as a WR1.
MORE: Minnesota Vikings 2023 Schedule
Instead, Addison isn’t the Vikings’ primary threat. Jefferson is.
As he proved in 2022, Jefferson is hyper-elite — to the point where he can produce even when defenses gravitate to him. But in a scenario where Jefferson is being blanketed, Addison has the perfect skill set, with his dynamism and versatility, to seep into the void, exploit opportunistic looks, and make defenses pay for overcompensating.
For a Vikings team that’s aiming to build off a 13-4 2022 campaign and stay competitive in the NFC North, that’s the exact combination they needed.