A New Vikings Connection Is Already Thriving
The Minnesota Vikings have two major attractions this offseason. Of course, the face of the franchise, and one of the most popular (and best) players in the NFL, Justin Jefferson, is one of them. The other is his new passer, J.J. McCarthy. In the early stages of Vikings camp, however, McCarthy and another wideout have stolen the show.
A New Vikings Connection Is Already Thriving
Jefferson’s running mate Jordan Addison has been absolutely cooking in the first week of training camp. He seems to be unguardable entering his third season in purple, while McCarthy, the man who’s throwing the rock his way, is in his second training camp.
In the first training camp practice, McCarthy found Addison deep for a 60-yard touchdown. The clip went viral on social media.
Addison is not particularly well covered, but the good thing about training camp is that one can take the glass-half-full approach and give the win to Addison rather than the loss to the defense. McCarthy’s deep-ball accuracy was a point of emphasis, and this time, he found his target.
A few days later, with fans in attendance for the first time this year, McCarthy again found Addison deep on a play that looked just like a copy of the other one.
We also have a clip from June, and Addison is streaking alone deep in this play, too.
McCarthy, 22, and Addison, 23, have already built a decent connection.
It’s helpful that Addison appears to be in fantastic shape this offseason. Kevin O’Connell praised his weapon last week: “I thought he had a tremendous offseason program. He was basically in there for every rep we asked of him for the eight, nine weeks that we had him. He’s come back in great shape.”
Addison came into the league in 2023 and immediately made his presence felt. K.J. Osborn had no chance defending his WR2 job following Adam Thielen’s departure, and Addison produced 911 yards and ten touchdowns in his debut season. In year two, Addison missed two full games and most of another and still came close to repeating his rookie numbers (875 yards and nine touchdowns).
“I’m really happy with the type of work he’s put in all offseason, that was even on his own throughout the summer, and I’m expecting to see a great version of him from day one right now,” O’Connell added.
The only problem with Addison is his two car-related incidents, one in each of the last two years. He recently pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, and a suspension is expected. If he’s out two or three games, he once again might not be the real breakout star he could be based on the practice impressions.
It’s still encouraging for the future that McCarthy and Addison have already built such a strong connection that a deep bomb could happen at any given time. The first-year starter also wants to create a bond like that with his other receivers. Jefferson remains the focal point of the offense, regardless of how good Addison is looking. His minor injury has put a pause on them building a comparable connection, though.
McCarthy was sidelined for an entire season. This year, the pressure will be on from the start. The Vikings have built a roster that is supposed to compete deep into January and, hopefully, even February. The inexperienced signal-caller needs to hit the ground running to make that happen. Having weapons like Addison, Jefferson, and tight end T.J. Hockenson (another frequent target in practice) helps.
The trio and their new point guard will face the Chicago Bears in Week 1 of the 2025 campaign.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.