Film Study: Why Jordan Addison is the perfect Justin Jefferson compliment

Intern Clay breaks down Addison film to show his true value to the Vikings offense

© Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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By Clay Petry

Jordan Addison’s first two seasons in the NFL have been impressive. He has quickly shown that he’s not only a capable receiver but is poised to be one of the top playmakers in the league.

Between his rookie and sophomore campaigns, Addison has racked up 133 receptions for 1,786 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. Those numbers rank 28th, 26th and fourth among all receivers between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Now that the former first-rounder has established himself, the combination of Addison and Jefferson has created one of the most dangerous receiving duos in the league. Jefferson, already one of the top wideouts, demands major attention from defenses, which opens up opportunities for Addison to exploit mismatches. And Addison has been very effective in doing so.

What makes Addison even more compelling is that he’s doing all this while still on his rookie contract. Receivers on the open market can command massive contracts, often putting a strain on a team’s salary cap. But Addison’s affordability allows the Vikings to maintain financial flexibility, giving them the ability to strengthen other areas of the roster without sacrificing their receiving corps.

With that said, every NFL offseason, there are always all sorts of rumors and debates that take place. One of those rumors/debates floating around Vikings fandom has been whether the Vikings should trade Addison for a top-tier cornerback like Sauce Gardner. Now, no actual trade offers popped up, but plenty of fans seemed OK with the idea of sending Addison packing for a player like Sauce.

So, I decided to take a deep dive into Addison’s tape from last season. The conclusion: You should want Addison sticking around in Minnesota. Let’s have a look…

We begin in Week 4 when Addison returned from a Week 1 injury to face off with the Packers. He proved his value in that game right away. In our first clip. Addison didn’t have a route that’s part of the true progression here, he is a distraction on this route. Offenses have different names for this, but I know it as a GIG route, get inside and go.

Look at how fast he gets on the DB’s toes. Not only does that make his deep defender chase after him, but he causes the deep middle safety to drop his depth too. This action allows Nailor to run into wide open space for a 30+ yard gain. The Packers look to be in a version of Cover 3 with a lot of extra eyes on Jefferson, but Addison’s ability to quickly eat space and put pressure on the deep defenders allowed this play to happen.

Our next play exemplifies that Addison is not just an average receiver. On the very next play after he cleared space for Nailor, he faces another cover-3 look for Green Bay, again heavily focusing on Jefferson. However, notice this time Addison doesn’t go full speed for the first part of his route. He gets on the DB’s toes, but not nearly with the same effort as he did on the last play. This is because he is smart enough and skilled enough to play with tempo.

He just showed off his speed on the prior play, so now the DB thinks he has seen what it looks like when Addison is going deep. Addison took this as a chance to lull him to sleep. The DB didn’t see the same explosiveness that he saw in the last play, so it likely affected his thinking about what route Addison could be running. Addison took advantage of this, set up the trap, and took advantage of being one step ahead in the mental game.

This is later in that same game and shows Addison's versatility. He’s not just a guy who thrives off of the open space that a guy like Justin Jefferson provides. This play displays Addison’s ability to “get freaky” and make space on his own.

Here are two more clips of Addison creating space against man coverage. Unfortunately, Darnold missed him on both of these throws, but this is why the film is so important. If you just look at the box score, you see 3 catches, 8 targets, 36 yards, and 0 touchdowns. If Darnold hits him on these two plays, the narrative of how Addison performed that week suddenly changes.

Jefferson gets the whole kitchen thrown at him on gameday, and if the Vikings have a player of Addison’s caliber playing alongside him, it creates very winnable matchups consistently.

On this play. Jefferson runs a 15-yard in route, which shifts both of the deep safeties out of position. This makes the touchdown look like free food, but it’s on Addison as a route runner to win his matchup and get open to finish the play.

Just because you have a winnable matchup doesn’t necessarily mean you will win it but Addison can win his with consistency.

Another example of this was against the Falcons. They look to be in some version of man defense, with a deep middle safety. The safety heavily shades toward his side, leaving Addison one-on-one. He was able to win his match-up and come down with the contested catch.

No matter how good Jefferson is, certain teams are going to make his life miserable by having 2/3 defenders key him on every play. Addison is so important to this offense because he can step up and be the guy who fills the void. Think back to the first game against Chicago. The Bears refused to let Jefferson beat them, but Jordan Addison was good enough to step up and take over.

In our next play, the Bears are in a cover-four, but they have a man pressed up on Jefferson. They also have a safety over the top staring at him as well. This gives Addison another 1v1, and he runs an amazing route. He noticed the cover-four shell, so he attacked the inside safety to make it seem like he was going to funnel himself inside. However, as soon as he got proper leverage, he attacked No. 32’s blind spot, causing him to get depth and width. This pressure gave him a window to break it back inside with the DB on his heels, and then he capped things off by going up and making a big-boy catch to finish the play.

Addison’s potential is undeniable, and his contributions to the Vikings’ offense are already exceptional. His ability to consistently find the end zone and put up impressive numbers—despite sharing the spotlight with a player as dominant as Justin Jefferson—proves he’s more than just a complementary piece. He’s a dynamic threat in his own right.

Addison’s ability to create space, win one-on-one matchups, and exploit defensive weaknesses makes him invaluable to the Vikings, particularly as they look to build for the long term. With a young quarterback and a growing offensive core, his affordability and growth potential make him a crucial part of the team’s future success. Trading him away for a high-profile cornerback like Sauce Gardner may sound appealing on paper, but the reality is that Addison’s ability to elevate the offense and complement Jefferson is not something easily replaced. His skill set is rare, and his value to the Vikings cannot be overstated.

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Clay Petry is the Purple Insider intern this semester. He goes to Penn and played football there. He also grew up as a Bears fan, waiting for them to find a quarterback