Has Minnesota Finally Figured Out How To Unleash Jordan Addison?
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
No one is particularly worried about Jordan Addison this week. His “Free 3” Instagram post prior to Week 9 may or may not have been a nothingburger — it will be difficult to ever know for sure. But part of the reason it inspired a low level of panic in Minnesota was that it rang true to Vikings fans that Addison might not be totally satisfied with how things were going.
After all, the sophomore had gone from 6.4 targets and 53.6 yards per game as a rookie to just 4.6 and 46.2, respectively, in 2024. Sam Darnold and Kevin O’Connell had a plan for him — go deep while everyone tries to stop Justin Jefferson — but too often, Addison seemed to get lost in the shuffle.
At the time of his post, things weren’t looking much better for the potential star receiver. T.J. Hockenson‘s return meant that his share of targets would soon follow. Looking at tight ends from 2022 to 2023, only Travis Kelce had more passes thrown his way than the 256 quarterbacks directed at Hockenson. As a Viking, Hockenson averaged 8.5 targets per game.
There is, as they say, just one ball on the field, and it has to go around. Hockenson’s going to get his targets. Justin Jefferson (8.6 per game in 2024) needs to eat, as well. Aaron Jones‘ impact as a receiver demands his touches as well (3.6).
Darnold had two choices: He could keep up what he’d been doing, while risk further alienating Addison. Or he could force some touches Addison’s way, and risk squeezing out his other impact player.
Instead, the Vikings QB looked at the situation and said, I would simply choose to make everyone happy. And that’s exactly, improbably, what he did on Sunday night.
It turns out, there was plenty of ball to go around for the Vikings receivers. Jefferson, of course, got his attention, with seven catches on nine attempts. And no one’s complaining there, especially when he gained 137 yards and nearly scored a touchdown on a long strike. But everyone else got to eat, too. Including Addison.
Oh my… this angle of the Jordan Addison TD 🎥🔥 pic.twitter.com/0optsZlV8R
— NFL (@NFL) November 4, 2024
The USC-t0-USC connection was alive, with Addison getting five targets for just the second time this season. The Vikings made it a point to feature him early and often, throwing the ball his way two times on their first drive, rushing him on the second, and keeping him involved throughout the game.
After the 21-13 win, KOC made sure to feed yet another ball and some praise to his receiver during his postgame speech. “Got to keep feeding this guy,” he shouted as the former QB perfectly delivered a game ball into Addison’s hands.
But Darnold deserves praise for the performance, as well, as he’s navigating the double-edged sword of having so many weapons. Of course, it’s a great thing for him to have, but it’s also a big responsibility. Everyone wants touches, everyone wants to feel involved, and Darnold has more players than ever that he needs to make feel happy and valued.
Hockenson pushes that number up, and perhaps the need to ease him and his knee into the season helped the ball-sharing cause on Sunday. Additionally, however, Josh Oliver‘s emergence also presents someone else to make sure to distribute a slice of the pie. We’re finding out more and more every week: the guy’s good, and he’s not someone the Vikings would be wise to ignore, even once Hockenson gets fully up to speed.
So how does Darnold take care of everyone going forward?
He might just have cracked the code on Sunday: Don’t put Addison in the “In Case of Deep Ball, Break Glass” box. Let’s look at his Average Depth of Target per week for 2024:
Week 1: 11.8
Week 4: 21.5
Week 5: 19.1
Week 7: 18.5
Week 8: 13.3
Week 9: 5.4
Darnold got Addison involved on short plays — that ADOT is the lowest of any game in his career — but it still paid off big. He not only got the touchdown, but turned a short pass on the play before that to convert on a 3rd & 9, and another one in the fourth quarter into a 21-yard gain, the biggest chunk play on Minnesota’s final touchdown.
The deep ball is always going to be part of Addison’s toolkit, but Darnold can’t forget that Addison’s speed plays well in the short game, as well. His two biggest-yardage games from last season (123 yards vs. San Francisco in Week 7 and 111 yards at Cincinnati in Week 15) each came with his ADOT under 10 yards. They were also his two multi-touchdown games. Just sayin’.
It’s a difficult balancing act to nail, but Darnold is more than up to the task. All things considered, he’s done well at spreading the ball around consistently with Minnesota, and showed on Sunday that he can keep threading that needle, even as more playmakers come in looking for their share.
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