Analysis: Vikings receiver Jordan Addison making defenses pay for focusing on Justin Jefferson

In one of his last meetings of the day on Saturday, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell let the team’s skill position players know he was making a slight change to a pass play they had in the game plan for their matchup with the Packers on Sunday.

The play called for Jordan Addison to stop on a short route from the slot, before turning and breaking downfield while Justin Jefferson ran an intermediate in-breaking route. O’Connell wanted to adjust the timing of the play slightly, to account for the possibility the Packers would send pressure.

“For him to be able to take the verbal cues of that adjustment, really not get a chance to practice again, and then do it in a pretty big spot there, kind of [shows] his ability to take some of those things and make them come to life,” O’Connell said of Addison.

Addison stopped his route about 4 yards past the line of scrimmage, baiting safety Javon Bullard into a short throw, then swiveled his hips around to sprint upfield and gain a step on Bullard. He stretched out to haul in the 18-yard touchdown pass from Darnold, who threw before Edgerrin Cooper could reach him on a blitz. The pass put the Vikings up 20-3 in the third quarter of a 27-25 win.

”Kind of a unique play there, where he’s stopping and restarting again,” O’Connell said. “What makes him so special, he puts on display.”

The second-year receiver has done it especially in the past four weeks, scoring five touchdowns in that time to give him 10 (one rushing) for the season to tie Justin Jefferson for the team lead. The Vikings had Jefferson and Addison on the field together for only 10 games last year, and only five of those came with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. This year, Jefferson and Sam Darnold have been healthy, while Addison returned from a preseason left ankle sprain and the sprained right ankle that caused him to miss two games after a hip drop tackle in the season opener.

Jefferson and Addison have referred to themselves as the best wide receiver duo in the league; Addison’s production in his second season has helped the Vikings make defenses pay for keying on Jefferson. On Sunday, he showed the footwork that attracted O’Connell to him in the first place.

”His route-running ability was what jumped off the tape from college, both at Pitt and USC in totally different offenses, doing totally different things in a lot of ways,” O’Connell said. “You pair his detail and what [wide receiver coach] Keenan [McCardell] has equipped him with in our system, and really, the versatility.”

On many of the Vikings’ known passing downs, O’Connell said, the team is moving Jefferson around the formation to keep defenses from clamping down on him. It means Addison and Jalen Nailor also have to play different spots in those situations, including plays where Addison becomes the No. 1 target depending on where Jefferson lines up.

“I mean, you look at Jordan, he ran a lot of routes off motion last night,” O’Connell said Monday. “He was in bunches. He was in stacks. He was physical in the run game. There was so much to like that went beyond the boxscore.”

Addison, who measured 5-11 and 173 pounds at the NFL combine last year, has gotten stronger this season, O’Connell said, which has helped him handle press coverage and improve as a run blocker. He impressed the Vikings with his football intellect before last year’s draft, and has absorbed plenty from conversations with McCardell and Jefferson about how to beat defenses.

It’s why O’Connell felt comfortable calling a play he’d adjusted after the Vikings were done practicing for the week, and it gave Addison a chance to showcase the agility he used to great effect against the Packers.

He had more than three yards of separation from the closest defender on four of his six catches against the Packers, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and snapped off a route in front of Keisean Nixon for a 20-yard catch in the third quarter.

It actually could have been a bigger day for Addison, if he’d come down with Darnold’s pass on his first target against Nixon. The quarterback tried Addison on a deep shot while Nixon was in zone coverage, and Addison took a step outside Nixon that forced him to turn on the run. But Darnold’s throw forced Addison to slow up just slightly, and Nixon recovered in time to deflect the ball out of Addison’s hands.

He would catch three passes in the second quarter, including a 13-yarder off motion and a push pass off a jet sweep near the goal line. He caught a screen on the first drive of the third quarter, before beating Bullard with the stop-and-go move for the touchdown that extended the Vikings lead to 17.

“He just continues to surprise me with the way that he can get in and out of cuts,” Darnold said Sunday. “Just his suddenness, his quick twitch, it’s very impressive.”

It’s part of what’s made Addison such a tough matchup for defenses whose first priority is Jefferson. Against a Lions team that’s given up the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL this season, it could be what helps Addison make a difference with the NFC’s No. 1 seed on the line.

To get exclusive analysis on the Vikings by Ben Goessling in your inbox every Friday, sign up for the free Access Vikings newsletter. Email your Vikings questions to accessvikings@startribune.com.