Inside Jordan Addison’s Whirlwind Offseason to Learn the Vikings’ Offense

The first-round pick out of USC describes learning the team’s playbook as ‘a lot,’ but he’s risen to the challenge and should be a worthy complement to Justin Jefferson.

Want to know how terrific Jordan Addison has looked? Just ask his coach.

On Sunday after practice, I spoke with Kevin O’Connell and opened my questions by asking what he’s seen from Addison thus far this summer. Here’s the ensuing 54 seconds:

“What’s really been impressive is what he mentally was able to absorb in the spring without getting to really take any reps as we let him kind of settle in,” O’Connell told Sports Illustrated. “He was dealing with a little issue, but moving on from that, he showed up to camp with a mindset that he wanted to be in that first huddle from Day 1. He’s not demonstrated anything other than confirmation of why he should be out there with the guys.

“He’s got so much natural ability, balance, body control, speed, burst, quickness. He’s incredibly gifted catching the football, probably doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to catch and be grounded, and get yards after the catch. Ultimately, what’s he done in the run game for a guy that isn’t the biggest, his willingness to go put his hands on safeties and block in the run game has given him an all-down, every-down type of feel to go along with Justin [Jefferson] and K.J. [Osborn].”

O'Connell on Addison: “What’s really been impressive is what he mentally was able to absorb in the spring without getting to really take any reps as we let him kind of settle in." :: Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports

If O’Connell missed something, let us know.

In all seriousness, it’s easy to see why the Vikings are so high on their first-round receiver. The USC product is diminutive as O’Connell noted at 5'11" and 175 pounds, but with the Trojans, Addison played in a pro-style passing game under coach Lincoln Riley as a senior, catching 59 passes for 875 yards and eight scores. At the scouting combine, Addison clocked a 4.49 40-yard dash.

Addison believes playing under Riley helped him prepare for the NFL, specifically in learning route concepts and forcing him to develop a more refined route tree.

Still, Addison says the whirlwind of his first offseason—including getting cited for speeding and reckless driving in July for traveling 140 mph in a 55-mph zone—has been a challenge mentally more than anything else.

“It has kind of felt like a lot,” Addison says. “They threw me in the fire. Put a lot on me, a lot of plays going in, but every day I feel like it’s starting to slow down. I’ve been getting better every day; I’ve been making my mistakes and learning from them. Right now, I’m just trying to stay in that [play]book and keep going.”

In his first NFL action Thursday night, Addison caught one pass for 22 yards, albeit with his most impressive catch being incorrectly ruled an incompletion, taking away a 17-yard masterpiece along the sideline.

While the Vikings lost to the Seahawks, 24–13, the evening was a positive for Addison. After spending several weeks against teammates at training camp, it was a teaching moment only true competition can provide.

“I walked out of that game knowing how to prepare in practice,” Addison says. “Just coming into that game, that first snap, it was way faster. They can’t really simulate that in practice, but now I know where my urgency needs to be at, and my first step off the ball. So I definitely gained a lot coming out of that game.”

Unlike many first-round picks, Addison isn’t expected to be the top receiving threat now or in the near future for his team.

In Minnesota, Addison joins the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in Justin Jefferson, who enters his fourth year coming off a season in which he led the NFL in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809).

“It’s really just been great for me,” Addison says of playing alongside Jefferson. “Just to be able to see what he does to get himself open and catch the ball. Right now, I’m just watching him and trying to see what I can use from his tools and put it in my game.”

This winter, the Vikings made the choice to release Minnesota native Adam Thielen, a former Pro Bowler who, at age 32, was set to enter the final year of his deal.

By drafting Addison, the Vikings changed the receiving corps around Jefferson but potentially upgraded it, all while ensuring they have a quality third option in Osborn, who totaled 60 catches for 605 yards and five touchdowns in 2022.

“It’s important we have multiple other threats,” O’Connell says. “Whether that’s T.J. [Hockenson], Jordan or K.J., the ability to run the football, all of those things complement because of how he gets defended. I would argue it’s different than most of the other guys you can compare to him, just because of his ability to go inside, outside and run the entire route tree. There’s some great receivers in this league, but Justin’s ability to do just about everything for us, and handle multiple double and triple teams within the confines of the offense, that’s where we need those other guys to naturally complement him by winning one-on-one coverage when there are soft zones.”

With the Vikings in the midst of rebuilding their defense with the newly appointed Brian Flores running the show, the offense will likely have to carry the burden early on.

Over its first five regular-season games, Minnesota will face a host of top-tier offenses, including the Eagles, Chargers and Chiefs, along with getting a look at the first pick in the draft, Bryce Young, and the Panthers. Bluntly, the Vikings better score points, and plenty of them, if they want to enjoy a fast start.

This will mean a quick learning curve for Addison on an offense otherwise flush with veteran talent familiar with O’Connell’s system.

“I feel like my skills fit perfectly for what we’re trying to do,” Addison says. “Like I said, it is a lot. But once you get it all down, the receivers we’ve got in this room, I don’t think nobody is going to be able to cover us.”