As a Pair, Can Jefferson and Addison Clear 3,000 Yards?
No doubt, it’s an ambitious total. Can Jefferson and Addison do it?
On average, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison would each need to hit 1,500 receiving yards to nail the lofty number. Still having Kirk Cousins under center would make that possibility feel a lot more possible, but mystery remains with some combination of Sam Darnold and/or J.J. McCarthy hogging the snaps in 2024.
Can Jefferson and Addison Combine to Clear 3K Receiving Yards?
To be clear, the goal isn’t statistical dominance. Leave that emphasis to fantasy football. Minnesota’s actual objective is to win a lot of football games, propelling themselves into the postseason where they’ll look to do some damage.
But while strong stats and wins aren’t the same thing, they often journey side-by-side, don’t they? As a team, Minnesota needs Mr. Jefferson to be dominant. He’s their clear-cut best player and most dangerous weapon. Every opposing team enters their Vikings matchup with Jefferson circled as the main focus of the game.
Addison’s role is to take the heat off of Jefferson while building off of a promising rookie season (silencing the sophomore slump predictions along the way).
Provided health cooperates, the pair should be a shoo-in to be one of the NFL’s top receiving tandems. Few NFL teams are equipped to hang with a pair as talented, especially since defenses will also be accounting for the threat posed by TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Aaron Jones (among others).
How does that work out in actual yardage totals? Consider the basic numbers over their time in the NFL.
Jefferson:
- 2020: 1,400
- 2021: 1,616
- 2022: 1,809
- 2023: 1,074
Addison:
- 2023: 911
In their lone season together, Jefferson and Addison offered the Vikings 1,985 yards. So, a bit more than 1,000 yards behind the benchmark we’re considering. The crucial caveat, though, is that Jefferson missed a full seven games and then part of two more games.
Even worse for the stats was that Addison struggled to maintain his production within Minnesota’s QB chaos. The speedy rookie had some pretty good chemistry with Cousins but after Week 8 there was a mix of Nick Mullens, Joshua Dobbs, and Jaren Hall (the mere fact that we need to discuss Addison alongside four different QBs speaks to how unusual the season was for Minnesota).
There’s only one football in Minnesota, so Kevin O’Connell’s task involves finding a way of distributing the ball to his abundant skill in an effective manner. No doubt, it’s a wonderful problem to have. Whoever is under center is going to do so with arguably the most impressive collection of talent in the NFL.
Within that cluster of skill is Minnesota’s cornerstone player – Justin Jefferson – and then the promising sophomore – Jordan Addison. These two are being entrusted with getting open early and often, providing either Sam Darnold and/or J.J. McCarthy with a friendly target on Sunday.
If successful, the pair may be able to get their production into elite territory, pushing the Vikings to victory along the way.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.