2023 NFL Draft Results: Minnesota Vikings select Jordan Addison

Even though the Minnesota Vikings’ offense was pretty good in 2022, the team still has a need at the wide receiver position, particularly with the departure of longtime star Adam Thielen. The team has chosen to fill that void early in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jordan Addison

Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Date of Birth: 27 January 2002 (21 years old)

College: University of Southern California

Drafted: Round 1, #24 overall

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 175 pounds

Career accomplishments: First-Team All-Pac 12 (2022), Consensus All-American (2021), First-Team All-ACC (2021), Biletnikoff Award Winner (2021)

Twitter handle: @Espn_Jordan

With the 24th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have selected wide receiver Jordan Addison from the University of Southern California.

Addison has a pretty impressive list of career accomplishments to this point. He started his college career at the University of Pittsburgh, spending two years with the Panthers and leading the FBS in receiving touchdowns in 2021 en route to winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver. He continued that productivity after transferring to USC, garnering First-Team All-Pac 12 honors.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic as Addison as the #2 wide receiver in this year’s draft class and the #25 overall player on his Big Board. Here’s what he has to say about Addison:

A one-year starter at USC, Addison was an inside/outside receiver in head coach Lincoln Riley’s version of the Air Raid offense. Leading the nation in receiving as a sophomore, he became the third Biletnikoff Award winner in Pitt history, joining Antonio Bryant (2000) and Larry Fitzgerald (2003), and continued his strong play after transferring to the Trojans. Addison skillfully marries his play speed, controlled suddenness and detailed focus as a route runner to create spacing and run-after-catch opportunities. He had double-digit drops each of his first two seasons at Pitt but showed much improved ball skills in 2022 (his drop rate decreased from 14.3 percent as a freshman to 9.9 percent as a sophomore to only 3.3 percent as a junior). Overall, Addison’s lack of ideal size and play strength are legitimate concerns, but he is a loose athlete with crafty routes and vertical speed to work all three levels. Projecting best in the slot, he has NFL starting talent from day one.

With defenses having to devote extra attention to Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson, it would appear that Addison is someone that could come in and contribute immediately to what looks to be a very explosive Minnesota offense.

Welcome to Minnesota, Jordan!