Live Draft Chat

[makila]

wr jordan addison

Wow I would have thought Porter Jr. or Levis.

Same, I get the pick. It's needed. It was known they liked Addison. Someone is going to trade up for Levis here before end of round. I think Porter Jr is a very safe pick here and fit incredibly well.

[IIsweet]

Ughhhhh..... 4 straight WRs
However, we needed someone else to ease the pressure off of JJ and keep Defenses honest.
We don't have that and this WR class sucks from here on.

[Husker Vike]

So like us to get in on the end of a position run, I really thought we were taking Porter

[VikingsVictorious]

So like us to get in on the end of a position run, I really thought we were taking Porter

Addison could easily be the best WR in the draft end of the run or not.

[makila]

He has to be 2nd to JJ. We're not expecting him to be our #1. Should allow for additional creativity on offense.

[Husker Vike]

He could be great , but our CB’s are pretty bad

[Pondering Her Percy]

Let’s gooo! Him and Porter were the top 2 on my board. Had Addison as the best WR in the class. Love the pick and I think Levis and hooker will fall. No opposed to a trade up

[JJBreaksRecords]

Boo, we should have gone D. Nolan Smith was still up, along with Porter. 2 years in a row with a lackluster 1st rd. The 4th WR on the board yet.

[cmoss84]

Boo, we should have gone D. Nolan Smith was still up, along with Porter. 2 years in a row with a lackluster 1st rd. The 4th WR on the board yet.

Just curious what you thought when we drafted JJ?

[cmoss84]

Wanted Porter also but a lot of teams passed...including Pitt and Bal

[Angels Wings]

A lot of corners are on the board, so I expect that there will be a run on corners. Unfortunately, the Vikings don't have a pick until the 3rd unless they trade into the 2nd. I doubt a good DB will be available at that point

[JJBreaksRecords]

Boo, we should have gone D. Nolan Smith was still up, along with Porter. 2 years in a row with a lackluster 1st rd. The 4th WR on the board yet.

Just curious what you thought when we drafted JJ?

I was happy with it. But our Defense wasnt the worst in the entire NFL then.

[VikingLord]

Let’s gooo! Him and Porter were the top 2 on my board. Had Addison as the best WR in the class. Love the pick and I think Levis and hooker will fall. No opposed to a trade up

I like the pick as well. Addison was great value at #23 both in terms of his value and fit with the Vikings. If he were bigger he'd be a top 10 pick based on his skill set and production.

The thing I like most about Addison is how he runs routes and gets separation. He is going to be a perfect complement to JJ in that regard and should work well with Cousins. He should be able to get on the field Day One and contribute right away.

[VikingsVictorious]

Let’s gooo! Him and Porter were the top 2 on my board. Had Addison as the best WR in the class. Love the pick and I think Levis and hooker will fall. No opposed to a trade up

I like the pick as well. Addison was great value at #23 both in terms of his value and fit with the Vikings. If he were bigger he'd be a top 10 pick based on his skill set and production.

The thing I like most about Addison is how he runs routes and gets separation. He is going to be a perfect complement to JJ in that regard and should work well with Cousins. He should be able to get on the field Day One and contribute right away.

3 WRs went right before we drafted Addison, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Addison was the #1 WR on our board.

[makila]

From the athletic

EAGAN, Minn. — If we’ve learned anything about Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, it’s that he is always mindful of the future. Of what might happen next and what he must do as the Minnesota Vikings’ foremost decision-maker to make sure the franchise is a step ahead for when that next thing happens.

This is in Adofo-Mensah’s DNA, the forecasting and the preparation. We saw them in action when the Vikings traded for T.J. Hockenson. The general manager knew then that Irv Smith Jr. was headed toward free agency. He also knew elite, pass-catching tight ends can provide value, so he pulled the trigger.

Adofo-Mensah’s habits also showed up in the team’s recent signing of Marcus Davenport. Despite having two productive edge rushers already on the roster (Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith, who have uncertain futures with the team), Adofo-Mensah went ahead and secured another dynamic yet inconsistent pass rusher in free agency.

Adofo-Mensah followed suit again Thursday. Rather than address an immediate need with the 23rd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft — say a cornerback, defensive tackle or linebacker — the Vikings selected Southern Cal wide receiver Jordan Addison.

Dressed in an all-pink suit, the 5-foot-11, 173-pound Addison, who in 2021 at the University of Pittsburgh won the Fred Biletnikoff award as the most outstanding receiver in college, strutted to the stage and declared: “We scoring all night.”

Later on, Adofo-Mensah spoke to media members at the TCO Performance Center and offered his evaluation. Addison, Adofo-Mensah said, can separate from defenders. He can win against coverage both inside and outside the numbers. And he moves naturally.

“There are a couple of players in this draft that you just feel like, at birth, they’re supposed to do the thing that they’re going to get paid to do at the NFL,” Adofo-Mensah said. “He’s one of them.”

In the leadup to Thursday night, the Vikings provided zero clues about their positional preference in the first round. Yes, they pored through quarterback film. And, certainly, they studied multiple defenders.

Adofo-Mensah said Minnesota “considered a lot” of options at No. 23 and that “it’s a deadline league.” He said he takes pride in cobbling together small advantages (via draft pick accumulation, positional value, etc.). But he also understands that the teams that win have impactful players.

“If you can get one,” he said, “you should take one.”

Why, though, did they take one who plays receiver? The answer hearkens back to Adofo-Mensah’s modus operandi. He is sitting at the chess board thinking not of the next move, but the one that follows the next move. And in this case, that vision revolved around the future of the Vikings’ wide receiver room.

Before Thursday night, the Vikings had three main pass catchers on their roster: Justin Jefferson, arguably the best receiver in the NFL; Hockenson, who was acquired and thrust into a role as the No. 2 option; and K.J. Osborn, who occupied a glue-guy position as a blocker and route runner who opened up multiple concepts. Jefferson is in line for a record-breaking extension. Hockenson is entering the final season of his contract and has also earned a hefty extension. Osborn, meanwhile, could hit free agency after the 2023 season.

The short-term view of Thursday’s pick is that Addison’s skill set pairs nicely with those pass catchers, especially in light of Adam Thielen’s departure. And that view is correct.

Last season, according to Telemetry Sports, Osborn ranked 120th among 159 qualified receivers in his separation score versus man coverage. Thielen ranked 151st.

One of Addison’s premier abilities, meanwhile, is separating from defenders. Even head coach Kevin O’Connell highlighted this attribute, suggesting a naturalness that popped on film.

The short-term view, however, is only a fraction of Adofo-Mensah’s considerations. He knows the price tags that will come with Jefferson and Hockenson extensions. He is aware Osborn could become a free agent. Pool those factors together and Adofo-Mensah realizes that adding an impact player at a premium position — which is going to become quite cost-effective — will provide the Vikings the best long-term chance of building a sustainable roster.

“I can’t wait for Kevin to get in the lab with all these guys (on offense),” the GM said.

There is a cost, of course. Choosing a receiver in this spot instead of a quarterback, for example, raises a question about how the team is going to find its next signal caller — that is, if they move on from Kirk Cousins. Furthermore, the receiver selection leaves 2022’s poor defense without an inexpensive, high-upside upgrade.

Adofo-Mensah said that the team’s decision-makers considered all options, and there is reason to think that a defender could have been the selection had the picks fallen differently. Regardless, in both the short and long terms, the onus for success now falls on multiple parties.

The first is the team’s evaluators. If the Vikings are to go after a defender with one of their remaining draft picks (Nos. 87, 119, 158 and 211), they must hit.

The second party that will face increased pressure is a combined grouping of the team’s 2022 picks, the coaching staff and the training staff. Collectively, that group must make a leap in the coming years, and O’Connell did not shy away Thursday from emphasizing the need to get better.

“I’ve challenged our coaches: It’s about the development,” he said. “It’s about, ‘Can we train and get the most out of every single player on our roster?”

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores will also be depended on for his coaching skills. Without a first-round upgrade, Flores will have to cater his system to Minnesota’s current roster and still — hopefully — improve its performance.

For the Vikings to find the correct course toward a “championship standard,” as Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell have termed their long-term goal, the team will need a lift in all three areas. That is the side to Thursday night’s main course. To the Vikings’ decision to draft a wide receiver O’Connell described as the type of player to whom the game just makes sense.

And he would know, considering that before the draft, he and Addison sat together and watched film. The Vikings invited Addison on a top-30 visit during which the 21-year-old also had a host of conversations with executives and coaches like wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell.

O’Connell talked to Addison about the possibility of moving him around the formation. O’Connell even showed him clips of players he thought he could mirror in the Vikings’ offense.

As it turns out, those conversations proved to be a starting point. Addison will arrive Friday, and the process of transforming those ideas into reality will begin.