Jordan Addison officially introduced himself to the NFL world on Monday night with his best performance yet in primetime against the daunting San Francisco 49ers defense. The Minnesota Vikings rookie starred in their 22-17 upset win, catching seven passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
This was not the first game that Addison had an impact on, but it was the first one he was one of the main reasons why the Vikings emerged victorious. It couldn’t have come at a better time either with the recent injury to All-World wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
The Vikings were desperate to find someone to fill in the massive void that Jefferson is leaving and while he is irreplaceable on the field, Addison put together a performance on Monday night worthy of some Jefferson-like praise. Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell delivered that to the first-round pick.
“Jordan has been everything that I hoped for from the moment I cut on the tape of his time in college,” O'Connell said, via Kevin Seifert. “But he's been more than that. He's been really taking on a role within our team, within our offense. He's earned an incredible amount of trust from Kirk [Cousins] and the rest of our guys.”
Addison coming into his own
Jordan Addison wasn’t a first-round NFL pick by accident. The 21-year-old enjoyed a fantastic college career and earned the right to be one of the first 32 names called at last April's draft.
His impression on Vikings teammates and coaches didn’t take long. He was talked about plenty during rookie camp and OTAs and continued to impress during the preseason by showing off his pass-catching and route-running skills in game. Still, he was always supposed to play second-fiddle to Justin Jefferson, though Kevin O'Connell knew the Vikings had a starter in Addison as soon as they selected him.
Minnesota lost their complementary piece alongside Jefferson when Adam Thielen signed with the Carolina Panthers last offseason. Addison appears to be an upgrade from the 33-year-old veteran and the former creating an early rapport with Kirk Cousins proves that.
With Monday night's coming out party, Addison became the fourth player in the last 40 years to have 400 receiving yards and six touchdowns in their first seven NFL games. Not even Justin Jefferson did that, though he set plenty of other records during his first season with Minnesota.
Jordan Addison's emergence as a top option for the Vikings offense is at the forefront of Minnesota's resurrection. It's easy to write off the Vikings after a 1-4 start and after they lost Jefferson indefinitely. Minnesota is 2-0 without Jefferson though and Addison has three touchdowns in those two games.
If anything, Addison's arrival gives Jefferson more incentive to get back sooner rather than later. Of course, he can only do so much, but staying in the playoff hunt will go a long way in getting Jefferson back on the field if his hamstring injury lingers.
If you thought the Vikings offense with Jefferson cooking was scary enough, wait till he and Addison are at the top of their games in the same huddle.
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