Dynamic Rookie Reveals His Next Goals
Jordan Addison became a member of the Vikings in April when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah selected him in the first round. The receiver was a productive player at Pittsburgh and USC, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wideout. Expectations have been sky-high for the rookie ever since he entered the draft. Now as the new running mate of Justin Jefferson, they are a nightmare for defenses if he can come close to his potential.
Dynamic Rookie Reveals His Next Goals
Still only 21 years old and having to adjust to the higher level of NFL football, fans should be patient until he gets fully comfortable on his new team. The good news, however, is that he is exactly working on that, as he explained during his media availability earlier in the week:
First I just start by knowing the plays. Cause if he (Kirk Cousins) sees that I’m on top of everything and I know where to be, then he is going to trust me down the field at the right moment. That’s where I’m right now, just making sure that he can trust me coming out of the huddle, knowing what I’m doing. I feel like it’s building, I still got a lot of work to do but I’m getting there.
Jordan Addison
Following his offseason struggles with injuries and the infamous speeding ticket, the rookie appears to be in a good state of mind, focusing on the critical things he has to improve to become a better football player.
The Vikings rookie was also asked how he has changed after one week of training camp if he is more comfortable now than he was one week earlier, and the differences in making catches in the NFL: “I’d say I’m definitely more comfortable now just having a couple of days of practice under my belt at this level. I made a couple of plays, so now my teammates can see what I can do. The difference at that level is pretty much every ball is going to be somewhat contested so that’s something that I’m starting to realize. I’m just creating as much separation as I can because it’s always somebody on my back.”
The receiver is in a terrific spot for a rookie wide receiver. He is playing next to the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year, Justin Jefferson, in an offense with T.J. Hockenson at tight end and K.J. Osborn at receiver. Addison doesn’t have to be a Week 1 superstar but can take all the time he needs to develop into the best version of himself.
Jefferson had an early breakout in his debut season, fans only had to wait until Week 3 to see him griddying into the endzone, but even he didn’t get a full grasp of the playbook for a handful more weeks after that. Another aspect is that he will play with a veteran quarterback who has a history of making receivers look good. Just like Jefferson, Addison is a natural separator and a fantastic technician.
So far, Addison has been performing quite incredibly in training camp, learning praise from many people. Head coach Kevin O’Connell applauded his rookie:
He’s off to a really good start. He completely put his issue from the spring behind him, he put in the work throughout the summer, so that was really not something that I was particularly concerned about. But what he’s done on the grass so far is confirming a lot of the things that we expected from Jordan. He’s also done some things instinctively just playing football within the confines of our scheme. And he has done that little things. He’s showing a willingness to be a blocker, he’s showing understanding of how he fits within the scheme and the rhythm and timing of the quarterback in the pass game.
Kevin O’Connell
Addison is off to a hot start, and all signs point toward him as an early contributor in Minnesota’s offense, but it remains to be seen if he can usurp Osborn for the WR2 spot in training camp. Regardless, Addison’s ceiling is intriguing, and he comes close to reaching it. The sky is the limit for the offense.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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