Awakening Addison
Target Jordan Addison and good things will happen.
No matter what, Justin Jefferson is going to command a ton of attention. The end result is some better looks for everyone else, as we’ve seen on several occasions this season. Sam Darnold has been demonstrating an increased willingness to fling the pigskin over to his WR2. Accordingly, the QB — and the team more broadly — have been rewarded.
Awakening Addison
In part due to injury, Addison began the year modestly.
The 5’11”, 175-pound receiver wasn’t a major factor early on. Before the explosion against the Bears in Week 12, his season-high for yards was a relatively modest 72. Up until the Tennessee game in Week 11, Addison’s targets exceeded 5 on just a single occasion.
Consider what has taken place over these past three games, all wins:
- Week 12: 9 targets, 8 catches, 162 yards, 1 touchdown
- Week 13: 6 targets, 4 catches, 54 yards
- Week 14: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 133 yards, 3 touchdowns
The dozen targets are a season-high for the WR2. So, too, are the trio of touchdowns. Safe to say that he absolutely roasted the Atlanta secondary, especially since he also forced the Falcons defense into a long pass interference penalty.
The season is now firmly within its final stretch. The 11-2 Vikings are going into the final four games of their year. Three of those games come against division rivals, with the Chicago Bears first up as Minnesota hosts their Illinois rival for a Monday Night Football game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 15.
The upcoming games are going to demand excellence from Minnesota. The cliché rings true: Minnesota’s best players will need to be their best players.
Jefferson remains Minnesota’s cornerstone player. No one on the roster is better than #18. But then there’s an excellent collection of talent on both sides of the ball that will need to show up in these final weeks. Addison is certainly among those players who need to keep being strong.
For the season, Addison has 44 catches for 708 yards and 7 scores. The 16.1 yards-per-reception average is a great number. Yes, he’s smaller, but the WR2 is a great deep threat who happens to be quite adept when it comes to taking the ball across the goal line.
Only 22, Jordan Addison is still getting better. His cap hit comes in a bit above $3 million, offering tremendous value for Minnesota.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
