When the Minnesota Vikings hired Kevin O’Connell, he had a lot to worry about.
The Vikings believed that O’Connell could get something out of their nucleus that Mike Zimmer couldn’t. Mix in the installation of a new scheme, acclimating to his new role, and learning the names of everyone inside TCO Performance Center, and it’s easy to see how much a first-year head coach has on his plate.
But O’Connell was up for the task, and the Vikings went on to win 13 games in his first season. While there are some new aspects of this year’s team, O’Connell is established in his new role, and it may lead to him taking on bigger projects in Year 2.
That includes “Kevin O’Connell: The Talent Evaluator,” and Jordan Addison is our first look at what could be the evolution of O’Connell’s tenure with the Vikings.
It begins with understanding the role of a head coach. We mentioned that O’Connell had plenty to deal with in his first season with the Vikings, but he also didn’t have the exact roster he wanted. With many key pieces of the Zimmer era returning, O’Connell’s goal was to take that team and elevate it to a new level. O’Connell passed that test with flying colors and now looks to mold the Vikings in his image.
As he does, it brings to mind a quote from Zimmer’s mentor, Bill Parcells. When Parcells found success with the New York Giants, he gradually requested more input on player decisions. While this was a new way of thinking, Parcells put it into perspective by comparing himself as football’s version of Gordon Ramsay.
“If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”
Since then, NFL head coaches have taken on personnel roles with varying degrees of success. While Bill Belichick panned out in New England, Bill O’Brien fell on his face in Houston.
Zimmer himself also tried to obtain a larger voice in personnel decisions even though Rick Spielman was the general manager. The great free-agent spending spree of 2021 came after a dreadful 2020 season and came at Zimmer’s demands to add veterans to his defense. As a result, Dalvin Tomlinson and Bashaud Breeland threw on Vikings uniforms, and it led to that regime’s demise.
O’Connell isn’t at that level of authority, but it’s clear that he has a voice in Minnesota’s decision-making process. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has preached collaboration throughout his early Vikings tenure, and it became apparent in the draft room video when they selected Addison in the first round.
While O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah sat next to each other and snickered like two friends who just benefitted from their teacher’s oversight on the seating chart, O’Connell mentioned that Addison was a tremendous route runner. When Adofo-Mensah milked the clock for any potential trade offers, O’Connell asked if any offer blew him away, to which Adofo-Mensah said no and proceeded to select Addison.
In the moments after the selection, O’Connell was on the verge of sobbing in the same way Stefon Diggs did after the Minneapolis Miracle. While pacing around the room and saying, “That’s a Day 1 starter,” it was clear that Addison was his guy and the lead factor on why the USC standout will begin his career in purple.
“I told you we’d get you…somehow, someway,” O’Connell told Addison after the selection. “We’re just getting started, man. … This thing just got real, real serious for a lot of people. You and Justin Jefferson breaking the huddle at the same time is a problem.”
O’Connell has many reasons to believe that Addison can fulfill his vision of defensive coordinators pulling their hair out. Addison was one of the most productive wideouts in college football over the past two years, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver during his sophomore season at Pittsburgh in 2021.
Although his numbers declined after transferring to USC last season, he was used as a dynamic threat in the screen game and ranked 14th among receivers (min. 32 snaps) with 2.99 yards per route run.
With his route running as one of his biggest strengths, Addison could wind up as a younger version of Adam Thielen, who ranked in the top 20 of qualifying receivers in yards per route run in three-straight seasons (2018-20) before seeing it drop to a career-low 1.08 YPRR last year.
But even if Addison passed the statistical and eye tests, there is more to evaluating a player.
Addison’s relative athletic score of 5.90 was another red flag coming out of college. However, his numbers were related to a back injury he suffered during training.
Even if that was the case, Addison’s frame suggests that he could be prone to injury. At 173 lbs., Addison ranked in the third percentile of receivers in MockDraftable’s database. His 8.75-inch hands also didn’t test well, ranking in the ninth percentile of the database and could lead to more drops in the future.
Physical stature aside, there is also the mental aspect of a prospect that needs to be evaluated. Spielman was the king of taking this to another level, often making selections based on what a prospect did at the whiteboard or said during an interview.
While Christian Ponder could tell you exactly what needed to happen during a play in a Wednesday afternoon meeting, he struggled to translate his thoughts to the field when a 300 lb. man was chasing him.
Addison has yet to drop a pass, but he already missed a majority of offseason team activities after suffering an undisclosed injury. Addison could just shake this off and look fine during training camp, but Kirk Cousins and Thielen already noted the difficulty of learning O’Connell’s offense last season.
Last year, Cousins admitted that he wasn’t comfortable with the scheme until a December loss to the Detroit Lions. How will a rookie could pick this up after missing an entire offseason program?
Then came Thursday morning, when Addison was cited for driving 140 mph in his Lamborghini. Trying to turn Interstate 94 into Rainbow Road is generally frowned upon, but even more so by an organization that had to clean up the Love Boat mess nearly 20 years ago.
There’s a chance that all of this will disappear once training camp hits and Addison will be a productive member of the Vikings for years to come. But there’s also the chance that Addison could be a reminder of when a head coach’s evaluation goes wrong.
