Rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison, the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of USC, is tasked with filling huge shoes on the Minnesota Vikings, entering their receiver room following the departure of two-time Pro Bowler Adam Thielen to the Carolina Panthers this offseason. However, Addison's stature (5-11, 175 pounds) is very different than Thielen's build (6-2, 195 pounds), so the Vikings are easing the rookie into their offseason program after he missed his last three games of his collegiate career with an ankle injury.
The good news: They plan to have Addison fully participate in training camp in about five weeks.
"We've had a plan in place for him and continuing to kind of build up to where he'll be," Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said last week. "He'll be spending quite a bit of time continuing his playbook. He's been phenomenal in meetings and out here asking great questions when they come up. My expectation is that Jordan will be full when we get going in late July."
O'Connell revealed Addison suffered some type of injury early on this offseason, which is the main factor to the Vikings' cautionary approach with their first-round pick.
"We're being overly cautious with him right now," O'Connell said on May 30. "Just something that popped up towards the tail end of rookie minicamp, nothing serious at all. As far as I'm concerned, it's kind of a day-to-day thing that we're just working through. This time of year, it's better to be safe with things, knowing that training camp's really not all that far away. To give him the best possible chance to impact our team like I think he will, that's the plan we're going with."
Since training camp should provide Addison plenty of opportunities to get up to speed with quarterback Kirk Cousins before Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10, there isn't a reason to panic about him at this point.
