Jordan Addison is no stranger to expectations.
Coming off his season as the Biletnikoff winner, he transferred to USC before the 2022 season with a mountain of expectations on his shoulders. He paired up with one of the top quarterbacks in college football in Caleb Williams, and one of the hottest play-callers in the game in Lincoln Riley. It seemed Addison’s ceiling couldn’t be higher.
And Addison was good at USC, but adjusting into a new offense meant he didn’t quite live up to the high bar he set for himself.
He enters his rookie season in a similar situation. Addison has the best receiver in the game lining up across from him, an excellent play caller, and an accurate quarterback in Kirk Cousins. Addison has the runway to meet his potential, and he will be setting the bar for himself quite high again. But how high is too high?
If we’re looking at the ceiling for Addison’s expectations in Year 1, it might be helpful to consider another receiver with a similar profile. Someone who has elite route running, inside/outside versatility, but a smaller physical profile that makes for a tough mismatch against bigger-bodied corners. Well, it just so happens that a player with a similar skillset just burst onto the scene for 72 catches and 1,042 yards as a rookie last season.
If you’re looking for the Jordan Addison blueprint, look no further than New Orleans Saints sophomore receiver Chris Olave.
I just got done last week writing a piece about Cam Jordan’s comments and how there’s no love lost between the Saints and the Vikings. Rest assured, I wouldn’t be hyping up New Orleans’ playmaker unless it was absolutely warranted. And certainly is, looking back at 2022.
Olave immediately hit the ground running like a seasoned vet. He quickly found his place in the Saints’ offense and became the most dependable option in their receiving corps. Olave moved all across the formation in New Orleans and used his silky-smooth route-running to make him a killer on third down when they needed him most.
He doesn’t have an elite physical frame, but he’s got nice speed and the technique to make him a target on all three levels. Olave will likely never be a dominant red-zone weapon, and he’s got his own concerns against big, physical press coverage. However, his versatility allowed him to chase the matchup advantage wherever he needed to be on the field.
When Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah turned in the card to draft Addison, we heard O’Connell say, “We just drafted a Day 1 starter.”
They sought a much-needed sidekick for superstar Justin Jefferson, someone who could take advantage of the double coverage shading away from him and make teams pay for it. Addison is looking to prove he can be that guy. Unlike Olave, Addison has the advantage of not needing to shoulder WR1 expectations. But that doesn’t mean Addison wouldn’t look at Olave’s early success as the type of standard he wants to set for himself.
Addison boasts the same inside/outside versatility as Chris Olave, but he clearly has an advantage attacking defenses from the slot. He lined up primarily in the slot during his Biletnikoff season at Pitt, and exploded for nearly 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns. Addison’s ability to manipulate defenders as he stems off his route makes him an assassin. Out of the slot, that often comes against safeties in zone coverage. For Addison, this is taking candy from a baby.
And in 2023 he sought to prove he could also win on the outside. Addison made his living manipulating defenders and catching them flat-footed. He has this knack for sliding his route one way, and then making his hard break the other without losing acceleration.
Jordan Addison is certainly not a Chris Olave clone. Olave’s got a bit more weight on his frame, and he’s got more toughness over the middle than Addison. On the other hand, Addison may be even more lethal at the top of his routes than Olave was as a prospect. Olave has also proven to be a bonafide playmaker at the NFL level, something Addison will be looking to prove for himself as a rookie.
If Addison comes anywhere close to Olave’s rookie season, it’s likely correlating with a whole lot of victorious Sundays and a real shot at winning the NFC North. That level of sky-high expectations might be too much for the rookie from USC. But last season we saw a player take similar pieces and put together something great. Olave set the bar, now it’s up to Addison to clear it.
