With Justin Jefferson out, Jordan Addison moves into the spotlight for the Vikings

The Vikings' youngest player says he can step in for the team's best player.

Receiver Jordan Addison, the 21-year-old rookie first-round pick, has impressed teammates and opponents alike by making plays in Justin Jefferson's shadow. But Jefferson will miss the first game of his NFL career on Sunday at Chicago; he is out at least four games while on injured reserve because of a hamstring strain suffered last week.

Many hands will be needed to replace Jefferson's goliath 38% share of the Vikings' passing yardage, and Addison, expected to play through an ankle injury, said he is up for the challenge. He is motivated to prove wrong the three NFL teams that selected receivers ahead of him in the draft, even as defenses can now focus on him more without Jefferson in the picture.

"This is where I get my chance to show that I'm the best receiver in my class," Addison told the Star Tribune. "So that's what I'm going to do. Fourth receiver taken, I got to show them that I should've been first."

Since Addison, the 23rd overall pick out of Southern California, participated in his first full team practice in training camp, team evaluators have lauded his quick-footed routes and fight to pluck the ball out of the sky despite a smaller 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame. Through five games, his three touchdowns are tied with Lions tight end Sam LaPorta for most among rookies.

Addison's bumpy start — with a previously undisclosed back injury that kept him from participating in Vikings spring practices and the July speeding ticket for driving 140 mph down Interstate 94 — seems to have faded into the background.

"Regardless of circumstance, Jordan's shown up," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "He was one of the favorite players I evaluated in the draft. I couldn't have been more excited when Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah] pulled the card. Since then, it's just been positive after positive, you know, outside of driving a little fast one time. So, my expectation is we hit the gas with Jordan this weekend. No pun intended about that."

Back on track

A conversation with his older brother, Michael Blackman-Herbert, helped lead Addison to the University of Pittsburgh instead of Notre Dame, which recruited him as a defensive back instead of receiver.

"My brother told me I need the ball in my hands," Addison said.

He starred at both positions for Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Md., where Addison played in the same youth league as former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs.

Addison was an immediate star at Pitt, too. As a true freshman in 2020, Addison led the Panthers in receiving yards. The following year, he was named the nation's best receiver, winning the Biletnikoff Award as Kenny Pickett's go-to target with 17 touchdowns. After transferring to USC last season, only injuries that kept him out of three games slowed his ascension.

While dealing with a nagging ankle injury at USC, Addison said, he also had a lower back strain. His back felt strong through predraft training until March when he arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine. He initially ran through the strain, clocking a 4.49-second 40-yard dash on his second try, before pulling out of drills.

"I was doing my 40 starts right before I was about to run and started feeling it," Addison said. "I'm good now. It just took not being on it. I hadn't rested it."

His back remained an issue at May rookie minicamp, so the Vikings were cautious and didn't put him on the field until training camp in late July.

In the early morning on July 20, Addison was pulled over on I-94 in St. Paul for driving 140 mph in a 55-mph zone. Addison admitted "poor judgment" and apologized. Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell defended Addison's character, and Addison, who pleaded guilty to a petty misdemeanor speeding charge, said the $686 fine from Ramsey County and the sixth-month revocation of his license were his only punishments.

"[The team] just kind of accepted that it was a mistake," Addison said, "because that's not really who I am, and they know that."

Natural on the field

Moving on from veteran Adam Thielen, a perennial 100-target receiver, was a tall order for the Vikings this offseason. But Addison — the fourth receiver drafted in a row in the first round, directly after the Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Chargers' Quentin Johnston and the Ravens' Zay Flowers — was the top-rated prospect for Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell, a former Pro Bowl player.

"No knock on Lincoln [Riley] and all those guys," McCardell said of the USC coach, but he preferred how Pittsburgh deployed Addison at different spots and put him in motion.

"Hands down he was number one [receiver prospect] for me," McCardell said. "Just the fact I know what it takes to play in this league and how you can create space and get open. He impressed me a lot."

Addison has at least 50 receiving yards in all but one game, becoming the first Vikings rookie since Percy Harvin in 2009 to start his career with a touchdown catch in each of the first two games. Addison is the only Vikings receiver without a drop this year.

Addison's touchdowns against the Buccaneers and Eagles came on post routes, which he told quarterback Kirk Cousins were his favorite during training camp. Addison likes the flexibility to attack safeties over the top if they sit shallow or cut underneath if they play deep.

"There's always a way to beat it," he said.

Cousins has often looked Addison's direction in key situations like third and fourth downs; the rookie already has a team-leading eight first-down grabs. Addison moved the chains on two of three fourth-down targets in last Sunday's loss to the Chiefs.

Cousins said it's similar to when Jefferson was "was doing his thing as a rookie. I'd say it's pretty easy to build chemistry when guys are pretty good. So, I'd love to tell you we did this, and we did that. And certainly, there was time when we're communicating and working, but I mean, when you see him run routes in one-on-ones in [camp] you're like, 'OK, I think he can play.'"

Addison's game against the Chiefs, when he caught six balls for 64 yards and a touchdown, "could've been even bigger, quite honestly," O'Connell said. Addison said he could have beaten press coverage quicker on one of the three passes he didn't catch, and Cousins appeared to miss an open Addison downfield at least twice.

"I'm just starting to get a little more comfortable," Addison said. "I still feel like I ain't scratching the ceiling of where I'll be in this league, but just every week I'm trying to improve on something."

What about this week?

"Winning one on one," he said. "That's going to be key. No Justin Jefferson out there, so I'm probably going to be earlier in the progression now."

'Only the beginning'

After Addison's 62-yard touchdown in the Sept. 14 loss at Philadelphia, Eagles receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith approached him on the field.

"They like, 'We see what you doing, man, just keep going. It's only the beginning for you,'" Addison recalled. "I ain't going to say I be needing that, but having people notice me that I've been watching [growing up] gives me more confidence."

Addison has thrived in a complementary role to Jefferson, who attracted two Buccaneers on the same side of the field as Addison's 39-yard touchdown on Sept. 10. Both Eagles safeties were deep but tilted toward Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson's side during Addison's score at Philadelphia, giving the rookie a solo opportunity against an Eagles cornerback.

Without Jefferson, all Vikings receivers will have to fight through more coverage.

"That's where all 11 guys have to do their job, and we've got to give them a good plan," O'Connell said.

Listed at 175 pounds, Addison is learning to live with NFL-level physicality. Chiefs cornerbacks were aggressive with Vikings receivers, inducing a penalty fest in the second quarter. Kansas City cornerback Jaylen Watson, listed 3 inches taller and 22 pounds heavier, successfully jammed Addison in the second quarter and delayed an incompletion thrown his way.

Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. said he sees the right process from Addison in practice.

"He's smart as far as lining up on the ball and knowing what releases he's going to do," Murphy said. "Since some DBs think he's a smaller guy, they'll throw a quick jam or something, and he's done a good job of knowing that's coming and using that against them."

Addison said he knows NFL defenders will try to bully him, which is why he devotes time to a weakness in his scouting report. He practices swatting away hands, dipping his shoulder and stepping with efficiency and deception at the line.

"Wanting to be the best," he said. "Like I ain't up here just to say I'm in the NFL. I'm trying to make plays."

The Vikings suddenly need a No. 1 target who can.