How High Can Vikings Receiving Duo Fly?
When the Minnesota Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson late in the first round, they certainly hoped he would help their offense. I’m not sure they saw him becoming the best in the league this soon, but here we are.
Now with Jordan Addison in tow, how high can the receiving duo fly for Minnesota?
How High Can Vikings Receiving Duo Fly?
At the beginning of his career, Justin Jefferson benefited from working alongside Adam Thielen. Watching from a productive veteran and seeing someone show him the ropes certainly proved invaluable as he jumpstarted his career. With Thielen now gone and Jefferson in that role, it will be on the former LSU product to present the opportunity for Jordan Addison. The strength of the receiving group could depend upon it.
A season ago, it was apparent that Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings needed more from their passing attack. Kevin O’Connell came in with a progressive thought process, but Jefferson was being blanketed, and Thielen wasn’t the same player. Irv Smith Jr. went down soon after, and the passing game was in dire straights. The organization ultimately added T.J. Hockenson, but even with better production, the body total was still negative.
Now with Jefferson and Hockenson fully entrenched in their roles, Cousins and the Vikings are hoping the infusion of Addison can take the receiving dup to new heights. Sure, that may mean fewer force-fed opportunities for Jefferson on his own, but it should also mean the quality of outcomes can rise.
While Tyreek Hill challenged Jefferson for the receiving lead much of last season, a pairing to emulate more is one that resides in Cincinnati with Joe Burrow. Ja’Marr Chase has emerged as a superstar on his own, and Tee Higgins is hardly a slouch alongside him. Both players surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last year and hauled in more than 100 receptions. They hauled in a combined 15 touchdowns and continuously made it tough for opposing defenses to key coverage one way or another.
It would be unfair to assume that Addison immediately has a Jefferson-like career trajectory, but he is afforded the opportunity to be an understudy. Jefferson vaulted himself to where he is now as the Vikings parted with Stefon Diggs. Thielen was a great receiver at that point but also stood to benefit from a different route runner taking the top off the defense. Addison has shown an ability to work all over the field as he shifted usage between his time with Pittsburgh and USC. Settling in opposite of Jefferson will take time, but he has a clear path forward.
Maybe we won’t ever see Jefferson break that lofty Calvin Johnson single-season receiving record at this point, but the betterment of Minnesota as a whole being the tradeoff is hardly an unfortunate outcome. Jefferson can continue to be among the best in the sport, and Addison can make his presence felt until defenders begin to respect his abilities.
The Vikings have seen wide receivers flop from the first round. In fact, they traded for one that did so just in front of Jefferson. Hopefully they’ve done their due diligence on Addison to ensure he’s not a Laquon Treadwell or Jalen Reagor repeat. If they have, then the Bengals have highlighted just how pretty of a blueprint the result can be.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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