Egan, Minnesota — The Minnesota Vikings draft room got tense Thursday night as the clock ticked on the 23rd pick overall. There was one player in particular still available—a wide receiver who the Vikings decision-makers agreed was so talented and likely to make an immediate impact that only a hefty ransom should drive them to give up an opportunity to recruit him.
However, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was standing in the middle of the room, listening to trade offers while putting off introducing the pick everyone wanted: USC receiver Jordan Addison.
During lengthy broadcasts by the NFL Network, and later by the Vikings Entertainment Network, owner Zygi Wilf was spinning around in his seat. Coach Kevin O’Connell roamed the room while saying, “This guy is the starter for day one.”
We got a start on day 1.
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– Minnesota Vikings April 28, 2023
With only a few seconds left Adofo-Mensah didn’t commit to drafting Addison, prompting the required celebration in the draft room.
“It’s my deadline league, man,” Adofu-Mensah later said. “…at the moment, there was no panic. We knew exactly what we were going to be willing to do different things, and we were very confident in the player we got. We were just waiting to see if anything came to tempt us, it didn’t happen, and it’s over.” We made it an influential player [at a] Excellent position.
The episode was the most revealing moment of the Vikings’ draft weekend, not only because it shed light on the Adofo-Mensah process but also because it provided a glimpse into how the organization views its roster. Even though veteran KJ Osborn is set to slip into the No. 2 receiver role opposite Justin Jefferson, and even though they have two tight ends under contract totaling $17.6 million this season (TJ Hockenson and Josh Oliver), the Vikings are still looking at the wide Receiver as much needed – and Addison essential if available.
It’s fair to ask why, given what appear to be more pressing short-term needs at cornerback and long-term at quarterback. Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell addressed the question again and again over the weekend, explaining that their offensive scheme needed three real, versatile threats in the receiver position. The decision to release 32-year-old veteran Adam Thelin left Jefferson and Osborne the only anchor receivers in their scheme, with 2022 sixth-round draft pick Jalen Naylor and punt returner Jalen Rigor and fielder Brandon Powell filling in deep behind.
“A lot of people always talk about the best thing out there for players [versus need]O’Connell said. It was one of those scenarios where the plate kind of fell on us, I let her check both boxes. It was clearly a need for us, after the departure of a great player like Adam Thielen, so we wanted to make sure that if a real impact player in that position was available in our selection, we were ready for that.”
It would have been easy to dismiss the pre-draft connections between the Vikings and Addison, whom ESPN’s draft predictor deemed their best option if they remained at #23. But the Vikings built much of their off-the-record business around getting more help from Jefferson, and better leverage on the coverage. that he generates, even after earning All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2022. Having backup tight Oliver added a level of personnel versatility that would break some defensive trends, Adofo-Mensah said. And ensuring a vibrant three-receiver combo, which the Vikings used on 825 snaps last season—fourth most in the NFL—will increase the ways they can move the Jeffersons around their lineups.
When he spoke to Addison on the phone Thursday night, O’Connell told him, “You and Justin Jefferson breaking the mob at the same time is a problem.” Speaking to reporters later, O’Connell said, “We feel like we’re going to be able to attack some key encounters and win some one-on-ones and try to dictate…if people want to defend us in certain kinds of ways. We feel like we’ve added a real weapon to combat that.”
At 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds, Addison is built like an NFL slot receiver. But one of the reasons the Vikings were so closed to drafting him was because they believed he could play at all three receiver positions.
“I think it’s very important for any player to play in our attack,” O’Connell said. “No matter what group of individuals, [when] You’re in the game with Justin Jefferson, so we’ll have the ability to animate him, and then energize you against some first cover looks you can get with how people defend Justin. I suspect [Addison] It gives us a chance to do a lot of different things, and then pair him up with KJ, maybe work against the odd coverage and work away from some of the over-indebted looks Justin tends to see. We want to make people pay for it.”
Adofo-Mensah passed on a chance to add a high-cap receiver in the 2022 draft, trading from the 12th pick — the Detroit Lions selected Jameson Williams — and slid to 32nd overall. The move reinforced the notion that Adofo-Mensah prefers to trade where possible, and it was certainly tempting on Thursday night. But he acknowledged that a big part of team building is finding impact players, and that the availability of these types of players tends to diminish as you go down the first round. So it helped that after introducing Addison’s name, O’Connell told Adofo-Mensah: “This sticks to our plan.”
“In the end, you always play those scenarios in your head and what could have happened,” Adofu-Mensah said. “I’m into it a million times because in the end your job is to try to win on the sidelines and collect all those little wins that add up to something great. But I think what you realize first and foremost in this league is, you have to win with impact players. That’s where it starts from him, and if you can get one, you should take one, and you should only risk not getting one if you get something meaningful back.”