EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Jordan Addison lined up in the slot and ran a simple 5-yard hitch route for the Minnesota Vikings last week in the third quarter against Green Bay, selling his complete stop so well that Packers safety Javon Bullard relaxed his coverage for a costly second.
Addison suddenly spun left toward the sideline and sprinted straight ahead, leaving Bullard a step behind in one-on-one coverage and giving Sam Darnold an ideal spot to throw. The pass hit Addison in stride after he crossed the goal line as he tumbled forward with the ball secure, stretching the Vikings' lead to 20-3.
Just 31 games into his NFL career, Addison is making quite a home for himself in the end zone. He has 19 touchdowns, tying him with Odell Beckham Jr. for the fourth-most in league history by a player under the age of 23. Randy Moss (28), Rob Gronkowski (27) and Ja'Marr Chase (22) are the only ones with more.
“He’s a baller. He’s a silent killer. He’s like the ninja on the team. He’s not going to say too many words, but he’s going to ball whenever he gets the ball,” fellow wide receiver Justin Jefferson said.
Jefferson and Moss are the only players in Vikings history with more receiving yardage over their first two seasons than Addison, who was the 23rd overall pick out of Southern California in the 2023 draft after beginning his college career at Pittsburgh.
“He’s putting in a ton of work on the field and off the field during the week to be able to put himself in good positions,” Darnold said. “The way that he’s been coming into work, he’s just been a pro. This whole entire year he’s been a pro, but to see it coming to fruition and see him do well, it’s really fun to watch.”
Addison still has to prove himself in the area of offseason discipline, having been arrested for excessive speeding before his rookie year and for drunken driving last summer. He pleaded not guilty last month to two misdemeanor charges in the latter case, for which he still faces another court date and likely NFL punishment next season.
Since his contrite arrival at training camp, though, Addison has gone to work. He overcame two sprained ankles, one during a preseason practice and another in the season opener that kept him out of the next two games, and has taken his production to a higher level of late with 577 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over the last seven games.
“He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s really learned how to play bigger, play stronger, play through contact, because that’s what this league seems to be,” coach Kevin O'Connell said. “These guys know that they’re being told, ‘This guy will be wide open if you don’t get your hands on him.’”
Addison at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds has long been one of the smallest players on the field, so he learned young how to effectively absorb contact at a size disadvantage. That has come in handy not only while trying to get open downfield but while blocking a larger defender on a running play.
When the Vikings were evaluating Addison two years ago leading up to the draft, his route-running ability “jumped off the tape,” O'Connell said. Still, his continued improvement in that aspect of his game, along with making contested catches, is what has made Addison most proud in his second season.
That hitch-and-go route he used to score against Green Bay was given a tweak the day before the game, when O'Connell and the staff were concerned about pressure on Darnold in the pocket if Addison waited to lock eyes with the quarterback before turning around and taking off.
“In practice, they were like, ‘We don’t know how much time he’s going to have, so once you come to a complete stop, pause for a second, then hit it,’” Addison said after practice on Friday, in preparation for the monumental game at Detroit. “So that’s what I did. It worked out perfect.”
With Jefferson under constant attention, the Vikings frequently move him around the formation in a quest to get him the ball as much as possible. That means Addison, too, must know all the routes from all the spots, an intelligence within the system that O'Connell saw during the pre-draft interview process.
“I remember being pretty blown away by where he was at. And then, any time I’m installing a play and I’m going down the road of probably, like you guys can imagine, overcooking it a little bit, I always look up and see him: He’s got a pen. He’s writing it down. He’s drawing it up,” O'Connell said, adding: “Just his ability to take some of those things and make it come to life is incredibly impactful.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Dave Campbell, The Associated Press
