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The Minnesota Vikings selected wide receiver Jordan Addison with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Here's what you need to know about how his Fantasy stock in both season-long and Dynasty formats is affected by his landing spot.

Addison's Fantasy fit with Vikings

Addison lands in an excellent spot in Minnesota. My concern about his ability to win consistently against press man coverage at 6-foot, 173 pounds vs. NFL cornerbacks may never come to fruition as he could move right into the slot role (where I see his best fit) in Year 1.

Addison is a smooth mover in and out of breaks and he creates immediate separation -- these traits are perfect for a fast-processing quarterback like Kirk Cousins who likes to get the ball out of his hands fast. Also, he joins an offensive system led by Kevin O'Connell that was one of the most pass-happy units in the NFL in his first year coaching the Vikings. I don't expect that to change much. Adam Thielen was targeted 107 times in 2022 and Addison has a great opportunity to earn that target share right away.

Dynasty outlook

This wide receiver class is a hodgepodge at the top, as we've discussed before, but landing with the Vikings is a good spot for Addison who will likely be selected around the midway point of the first round of your rookie drafts. In two-QB leagues, he might come off the board closer to the turn. He's one of the five best Dynasty assets. Addison has an opportunity to earn a major target share in Year 1 with Adam Thielen gone. In theory, he could take over Thielen's role as early as year one.

Jordan Addison: What to know

Addison took home the Fred Biletnikoff Award (best wide receiver in college football) in 2021 as a consensus All-American while working with Kenny Pickett at Pittsburgh. He racked up 1,593 yards and 100 catches with 17 touchdowns in just 14 games. His dominant season included eight games where he eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Then he transferred to USC to play in a new system with a new quarterback in Caleb Williams and coach Lincoln Riley. At USC, Addison caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns.

One of the most impressive aspects of Addison's profile is that he has sustained production across multiple offensive systems with multiple quarterbacks. Sure, those quarterbacks have been talented, but he's had to start his rapport over each time. 

What I like most about Addison's Fantasy Football profile is that despite being undersized, he racked up 29 career receiving touchdowns in just 35 games. To accrue that many touchdowns means you're doing something right in the red zone, and Addison's ability to sell routes and create separation by maximizing his space in and out of his breaks are the two reasons he was uber-productive in the touchdown department. And that's a really good sign for his Fantasy Football outlook at the NFL level.

Addison can play both outside and inside receiver, but his skill set translates best in the slot at the NFL level. That doesn't mean he'll play there. Jaylen Waddle, who is even shorter than Addison, has enjoyed an early breakout at the NFL level playing the majority of his snaps on the outside.

Addison's defining trait is certainly his ability to create separation in and out of his breaks, which most evaluators believe is the most important trait for the position, but it's not the only thing that stands out. Addison has plenty of examples on tape where he does an excellent job extending away from his frame and tapping his toes in bounds along the sideline on grabs. Addison understands all of the angles on the field and knows how to best maximize space.

Age as of Week 1: 21 | Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 173 | 40-time: 4.49

Comparable body-type to: Marquise Brown

We're breaking down everything you need to know about Addison from a Fantasy manager perspective, including best fits, Dynasty outlook, measurables, scouting report, key stats and an NFL comparison.

Scouting report

Strengths

  • They say separation is king at the NFL level and I'm with that -- I can also say for certain that it's the king trait in Addison's game.
  • Addison's fluidity as a route runner allows him to waste little to no space on the field as he transitions from going vertical to breaking inside, breaking outside, or breaking back toward the line of scrimmage to present an open target for the quarterback.
  • Addison has run the full route tree playing in multiple offensive systems and continued to look explosive and fluid running routes at all three levels of the field -- short, intermediate and vertical.
  • As technically sound as it gets from a route running standpoint relative to the rest of this draft class.
  • Footwork is excellent for Addison. He explodes off the line of scrimmage but can also maximize angles and space when getting out of his breaks to keep cornerbacks on their toes and often off balance.
  • Addison uses his upper body to sell his routes really well with shakes to keep cornerbacks off guard.
  • Addison will immediately be a mismatch at the NFL level on whip routes, blaze outs, out-and-up routes AND even on routes that break back to the line of scrimmage thanks to his elite level hip fluidity and ankle flexion.
  • Spatial awareness is excellent with Addison -- all of the traits we listed above as strengths are what makes him a great receiver when it comes to beating man coverage, but his spatial awareness is what makes him a weapon against zone coverage.
  • Can be a factor on special teams and has experience returning kicks.
  • Not the fastest straight-line runner but uses his route running and maximizes space to create separation on vertical routes in addition to the in and out breakers.

Concerns

  • Size and frame are the key concerns for Addison. He is only 173 pounds and that could become an issue for him at the NFL level when it comes to taking hits over the middle and creating yards after the catch (and more specifically after contact).
  • Catch radius at the NFL level is an issue. Addison has a short wingspan and doesn't provide a big window for quarterbacks to fit the ball. 
  • Physicality is not a big part of Addison's game and you'll sometimes see him get pressed to the sideline against man coverage. He needs to improve on using his hands to create subtle separation against press man on the vertical routes.
  • Hands could be an issue. Although Addison dropped just two passes in 2022 with USC, he had 21 dropped passes in his two seasons at Pitt from 2020-2021. Addison also has small hands relative to wide receivers at the NFL level and this could be part of the issue.
  • Sometimes Addison lets the ball come into his body -- more often than you'd like -- instead of plucking it out of the air.
  • While I believe Addison can play outside as well, his best fit at the NFL level is really in the slot given his size/frame/lack of physicality in his game.

Stats


GRecReYdsAvgTD
2022115987514.88
Career35219313414.329

Other stats to know

  • Addison racked up 2.78 yards per route run (per PFF) in his 2022 season at USC.
  • Addison led the team in receiving yards and receptions in each of his last two seasons despite playing on different teams with different quarterbacks. Targets are earned.

NFL comparison

The NFL comparison I like best for Addison is a smaller and less explosive version of Calvin Ridley. That's a good thing! Ridley evolved into one of the most dominant snap for snap receivers in the NFL with Atlanta despite testing poorly at the combine. Addison's smoothness in and out of his breaks and his ability to maximize space with his feet to create separation are very Ridley-esque.