The 2025 season did not go how anyone attached to the Minnesota Vikings hoped it would. But in true Vikings' fashion, they managed to win nine games when it would have been more helpful to their first-round pick to lose late in the season.
Wide receiver Jordan Addison's 2025 campaign started with a three-game suspension, and it didn't really get any better from there. While averaging a career-best 14.5 yards per catch, he also had less than 40 yards in eight of his 14 games on his way to career-lows otherwise.
For all the attention paid to Justin Jefferson's dismal production due to abysmal quarterback play, no one was immune, and Addison's production suffered too. As he eyes earning a lucrative contract extension, and is ideally also focused on eliminating the off-the-field issues that've been a nuisance to his career trajectory, things can only get better this year.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison maintains spot among his peers despite down season
Former Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs recently created a headline when he said, despite not currently being on a team, he's the best WR2 in the NFL. That idea can be dismissed and supported any way someone may want to, but it's also fair to say Diggs brings the diva-like qualities no one readily wants in a WR2 who's at the point he's at in his career.
Diggs was flimsily tied to a reunion with the Vikings at a certain point this offseason, but it never made sense and the ship finally sailed with the signing of Jauan Jennings. How much Jennings will threaten Addison's role as the WR2 is a viable question, but Diggs' presence would have suffocated every Vikings' wide receiver not named Jefferson.
Spurred by Diggs' quotable assertion, SI.com has ranked the top-10 WR2s in the NFL as the start of 2026 training camps approaches. The top four land about as expected: George Pickens, Tee Higgins, Jameson Williams, and Davante Adams. They are followed by Jaylen Waddle, who was deemed the Denver Broncos' WR2 to WR1 Courtland Sutton.
Despite having the worst season of his career last year, Addison landed at No. 6 on the list with writer Mike Kadlick authoring the case.
"Addison's off the field issues have largely masked his on-field success since being drafted by the Vikings in 2023. Over his first three seasons, the 24-year-old has tallied 175 receptions for 2,396 yards and 22 touchdowns, and in 2025 notched a career-high 14.5 yards per reception. Minnesota has since picked up Addison’s fifth-year option heading into the upcoming campaign."
"The duo of Addison and Justin Jefferson is among the league’s best, and could do some serious damage in 2026 if the Vikings can find quality quarterback play from either Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy."
With what can only be better quarterback play this season, whoever provides it, Addison is in line for a rebound campaign just like Jefferson is. And with that, he may make a legit case for a top-five spot in any rankings of WR2s a year from now.
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