2023 NFL Draft Profile: WR Jordan Addison

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Jordan Addison began his college football career at Pitt. In his two seasons for the Pitt Panthers, the pass catcher racked up a total of 160 receptions, 2,259 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns. His 2021 season was certainly magical, in particular. Addison led all of college football with 17 receiving touchdowns that year. At the same time, he finished with 100 receptions (a Pitt school record) and 1,593 receiving yards. In 2021, Jordan Addison earned first-team All-ACC honors, consensus All-American honors and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for most outstanding receiver.

Afterwards, Addison transferred to USC for the 2022 season. In his 11 games with the Trojans, he finished with 59 receptions, 875 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Jordan Addison went on to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors for his 2022 campaign.

Top Strengths

Route Running/Separation

The way in which Jordan Addison sells routes is savvy. He is extremely smooth when working in and out of breaks. With his subtle footwork during cuts, Addison is able to extend his separation and the throwing window at the top of the route. In turn, Addison can eat up a defender’s cushion immediately, while being able to gain separation at all three levels. With how effectively he sells routes, Addison is able to gain leverage early and can often get lost in space by defenders.

Ball Skills

The ball skills of Jordan Addison are tantalizing. With the work that he does during routes before the ball reaches the catch point, Addison makes certain contested catches in traffic look effortless. He can sometimes play bigger than what his size would initially indicate. That is due to his stellar body control, to boot. Add that in with his crisp ball tracking ability and adjustments at the catch point, and Addison can quickly become frustrating. Simply put, the game just looks to slow down for him in condensed areas.

Yards After Catch Ability

Some people may only think of speed demons, when it comes to having success after the catch. But for Jordan Addison, he can rack up additional yards by attacking with instincts. The spatial awareness of this receiver is impeccable. For example, Addison has a great feel for backside pressure, while still keeping his eyes upfield. He can often set opponents up for missteps or false steps with his wicked jab step. Finally, the tempo that Addison can increase or decrease can often expose poor angles from defensive players in space.

Areas Of Improvement

Release Package

Overall, the biggest area of concern for Jordan Addison involves his ability to beat physical defenders with press coverage. He does not have a lot of moves in his arsenal to beat press. Of course, his strength will be a question mark in certain one-on-one matchups as well. Addison largely looks to run by opposing defenders at the line of scrimmage as quick as he possibly can. That can mitigate his impact in certain situations.

Speed

The speed of Jordan Addison is not as slow as it could be. However, there are not many races that he can win in the open field with pure speed. His footwork and agility help him create additional room to create with the ball in his hands. Yet, Addison is far from a blazer, despite his wiry frame. One would have to think that this could limit some of his opportunities, as far as where he aligns in the offensive formation.

Versatility

I don’t think Jordan Addison profiles as a universal scheme fit at the NFL level. In the right environment, Addison should be treated mostly as a receiver that can gain help from pre-snap motion and free releases. It would not be wise to line him up on the perimeter as the only receiver to his side for every snap. As a result, creativity from coaching will be key in allowing him to produce right away. Addison profiles best as a complementary piece, as things currently stand.

Ideal Role

With his current makeup, Jordan Addison is likely best suited to handle the WR2 role for whichever team drafts him. He could eventually handle the pressure of being the number one guy on the depth chart. There is just a bit more development and polish needed first, though. Ideally, Addison exudes the style of a Z receiver. This is a pass catcher that should likely receive opportunities from both the slot and out-wide to the tight end’s side as the flanker.

Potential Fits

There are a few teams that could make sense for Jordan Addison late in the first round. First off, the Baltimore Ravens are seemingly always looking for more reliability at wide receiver. Addison could slide in as a complementary piece to Rashod Bateman.

On the other hand, Jordan Addison is a sneaky-good fit for someone like the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota may not seem like a team who needs another wide receiver initially. But as KJ Osborn continues to grow, Addison could be someone that helps take pressure off of Justin Jefferson. Finally, the Buffalo Bills may look to give Stefon Diggs another running mate after Gabe Davis fell a bit below expectations last year.

Be on the lookout for more FPC 2023 NFL draft prospect profiles throughout the next month. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.