What Does a Successful Rookie Year Look Like for Jordan Addison?
The Minnesota Vikings employ the best wide receiver across the NFL in the form of Justin Jefferson. They used their first round draft pick in April on Jordan Addison. Adding another talented wide receiver helps Kirk Cousins, but what are logical expectations this season?
Kevin O’Connell was brought in to put forward a more progressive type of offense. Leaving Mike Zimmer’s dated style in the past, the more weapons O’Connell is employed with, the better. Last season he had Justin Jefferson trending towards an all-time single-season record. He was given T.J. Hockenson to spread out the offense, and he sprinkled in both Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook. Now, he adds Addison to the fold.
The Vikings didn’t have enough on the edges last year. Thielen began to show his age, and K.J. Osborn didn’t truly step up. Needing more, Addison should find ample opportunity for the role to be his. Whether he starts as the second wide receiver out of the gate remains to be seen, but the numbers should stack up when the dust settles.
So, what does success look like?
If Addison is going to be among the better young wideouts this season, he’ll have to track down Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson type of numbers. Last season with the New York Jets, Wilson started 12 games and played in 17. New York didn’t have a plethora of good options to put around Zach Wilson, but Garrett definitely emerged. His 1,100 yards came on 83 receptions and he found the end zone four times.
Andy Dalton was under center for the Saints, and he often looked for former Buckeyes star Chris Olave. Starting nine games and playing in 15, Olave posted over 1,000 yards on 72 receptions with four touchdowns of his own. New Orleans was without Michael Thomas for all but three games last year, and it was Olave who picked up the pieces.
Only Jaxon Smith-Njigba is favored to have more receiving yards than Addison. That is a by-product of the environment more than likely. Smith-Njigba has an opportunity to run away with the lead receiver role for the Seahawks. Geno Smith will need to spread the ball around, and Tyler Lockett is not a superstar by any means.
On the Vikings side, Addison should have a clear avenue to draw coverage away from Jefferson. The Vikings star wideout has talked at length about how teams played a safety over the top of him down the stretch last year. Having another weapon on the edges should force defenses to stay true, and the offense as a whole can rise.
A season ago, no one on the Vikings had half as many yards as Jefferson. Thielen’s 716 yards were second-most, with Osborn checking in at 650. If Addison can surpass the Thielen mark, and maybe even push towards 1,000 yards of his own, it should be deemed an impressive rookie campaign.
Jefferson posted 1,400 yards during his debut season, and that was while settling in alongside Thielen. Stefon Diggs had already moved on at that point, and Minnesota was looking to establish a new threat. They now have that in Jefferson, and the bar can’t be as high. Still, Addison has a clear path to making a real impact. Staying on the field should give him ample opportunity to produce.
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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