Vikings rookie ready to serve as Adam Thielen replacement

The Minnesota Vikings lost veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen to free agency and, ultimately, to the Carolina Panthers and then spent a first-round draft pick on USC Trojans star Jordan Addison. 

Addison sounds ready to replace Thielen as a favorite target for quarterback Kirk Cousins. 

"I ain't going to get into it too much, comparing. I just know what I can do. I'm confident, and I am going to fill his shoes," Addison said about Thielen during an appearance on the NFL Network "NFL Total Access" program, per Brenna White of the league's website. 

Addison joined the Vikings at an interesting time considering head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will soon have to make multiple franchise-altering decisions. For starters, it is likely a matter of when, not if, All-Pro Justin Jefferson becomes the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL and possibly the league's best-paid non-quarterback for at least one year. 

According to ESPN stats, Jefferson led the entire league last regular season with 128 catches, 184 targets and 1,809 receiving yards to go along with eight touchdown receptions. Understandably, Addison knows he has plenty to learn from the 2020 first-round choice as it pertains to succeeding at the highest level. 

"Oh, man, it's just been all learning for me, not too much talking," Addison said about springtime interactions he had with Jefferson. "Just out there on the field watching what he do and just trying to pick his brain to see why he wants to run his routes the way he do."

As for Cousins, he remains on track to hit free agency after the 2023 campaign and seemingly won't sign an extension with the club before next winter, if at all. As recently as this week, Cousins was linked with potential future moves to either the San Francisco 49ers or Los Angeles Rams. 

Such uncertainty could unsettle a rookie, but that isn't the case with Addison ahead of his first NFL training camp. 

"It was just real special, I had the family there to support, and I just felt like I fell to the perfect organization," Addison said about going to the Vikings on draft night.