How High Can Jordan Addison Fly in Year No. 2?
The Minnesota Vikings employ the best wide receiver in the NFL, Justin Jefferson. They also drafted another wide receiver last season, Jordan Addison, and speculation about his development has continued this summer.
How High Can Jordan Addison Fly in Year No. 2?
When the Minnesota Vikings drafted Jordan Addison last spring, they did so, hoping to find a new running mate for Justin Jefferson. The rookie wound up being all of that and then some. He played in all 17 games and started 14 of them. Generating more than 100 targets during a season in which his quarterback was never consistent, Addison came up just shy of a 1,000-yard season.
Addison racked up touchdowns at a quick pace when working with Kirk Cousins and being featured with Jefferson on the shelf. He wound up hauling in ten on the season, and while the pace slowed as the year went on, it was much more a result of who was throwing him the ball than anything he did.
Going into year two, Addison has been universally praised through minicamp. He should be expected to take a significant step forward, but how that looks with a healthy Jefferson and a new quarterback could provide quite the wrinkle. Targets will definitely be dominated by the Vikings’ top wideout this season, and that will detract from the opportunity Addison sees. T.J. Hockenson being out will require people to step up, and Addison can factor there, but once again, plenty will rely on the quarterback.
Sam Darnold should be expected to perform better with new weapons, but he still has to distance himself from the results he has shown in the pros thus far. J.J. McCarthy probably isn’t starting any time soon, and once he does, the wide receiver corps will hope he is ready to go and get them the ball in proper windows.
Individually, Addison could see a slight dip in statistics but prove to be an even greater asset. It wouldn’t be shocking to see him generate a better level of separation or take over defenses when they focus too heavily on Justin Jefferson. That may not result in his first 1,000-yard season, and he probably isn’t going to surpass the ten touchdowns, but multiple triple-digit receiving games could be on deck.
Seeing what the hype has been about this offseason will quickly be revealed. Addison is ready to take another step, and seeing what that materializes into will be fun.
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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