Jordan Addison, USC (5’11”, 173)
What Scouts Say:
Successful across multiple offensive systems in college, incredible route timing, setting up DBs, excellent ball skills and route running, great separation but not elite speed. Not overly strong, and a net minus run blocker. Great release package, body control is a plus. Elite athlete, a deep ball threat as well as a screen threat. Three years of badass production, in two different systems. High-end speed and athleticism, strong hands, excellent route runner. He carries a small frame and injury concerns. Downfield threat with good separation ability. He has a good YAC ability and can make dudes miss in short space. Good top-end speed from a quick, and movable weapon. Slot guy for his years at Pitt, then moved to the outside at USC and his production took a bit of a hit. Three-level threat and a great route runner has extra gear. However, he can get outmuscled and almost half (23 of 59) of his catches in his Junior season were screens. He is a good route runner, but there are questions if he will ever be a true WR1.
What We Saw:
Tony:
There’s an outside chance Jordan Addison is the first WR off the board in the NFL Draft, and it makes sense. He lacks Quentin Johnson’s size and Jalin Hyatt’s speed, and he does what Zay Flowers does, but like 1.5x better. He’s a 1st and 3rd level threat who can become the focal point of an offense but may be better suited to being an elite WR2. He is an excellent route runner, separator, and deep ball threat, but he is also electric and proficient as a WR screen hog. He might be best suited as a slot receiver because of his tendency to get outmuscled, but he is productive and we’ve seen NFL offenses shift their ideological profiles to best benefit talent. Jordan Addison is an impact player if put in one of those systems.
Shane:
Addison is electric, one of the best route runners in the class that was used well all over the field. Finds the holes in defenses to exploit them to get big chunk plays. Makes his QBs have a higher ceiling. I was a tad upset that I had to watch Pickett play again due to his time in Pitt, but to watch that type of output, was worth it. Outside of the obvious, where the injury took him out for a stretch, I have 0 clues why he had stat regression in ‘22. He looked like he ascended further in his playmaking ability and athletic prowess from Pitt to USC. Is Pickett a better QB than Willams? Did he not have chemistry for timing? Was the level of competition higher at USC? Did he have to acclimate? Are these stats fake? I really don’t know but what I do know is Addison has the juice and is going to do very well in The NFL based on the “good at football” analysis. He’ll earn his spot and his targets regardless of size. The real question at the moment is Addison or JSN. I think that answer comes down to personal preference on whatever metrics you feel are the most important, DC, offense, whatever. I personally believe he has a higher ceiling based on athleticism than JSN, but we’ve seen guys with mid athleticism absolutely tear up the WR position based on his actual skill set. In 3 years you can make fun of me for that take and I’ll wear the wound. As of right now I still see JSN as the WR1 of the class based on the stable floor of what he can provide you at the ~1.06. POST COMBINE UPDATE: RIP
Player Comparison:
Brandin Cooks/DeVonta Smith
