Vikings receiver Jordan Addison doesn't deliver. Who or what is to blame?

The Justin Jefferson factor: When Jefferson is healthy, he gets a lot of the attention from both the Vikings offense and opposing defenses. The coverages Jefferson faces should leave other pass catchers (like Addison) open, but he's also so good that getting caught on a double team is often a smart move.

The bottom line is that if we compare Addison's chances this year to the 10 games he played last season with Jefferson (who missed seven games due to injury), we don't see much of a difference. Addison had 35 catches on 55 targets in 10 games with Jefferson last season, an average of 3.5 and 5.5 per game. This year, Addison has played in 4.5 games – missing most of the second half against the Giants and two more games after that. In those 4.5 games, he averaged 3.1 catches and 5.1 goals.

Added up: They attempt 27.1 passes per game this season; Last season they threw 37.1 times, a whopping 10 more pass attempts per game. There is simply less volume for everyone.

The Sam Darnold factor: Krammer said he noticed QB Kirk Cousins ​​building a quick rapport with Addison in training camp in 2023. There were numerous stories about new QB Sam Darnold building chemistry with Jefferson. But Darnold and Addison were slower to build that connection.

“I haven’t seen that from Sam Darnold this year. “I have never experienced this level of self-confidence,” said Krammer. “The only time we see Addison catching passes from Sam Darnold seems to be those outside routes down the sideline where there's just enough window to get the ball there and it's not contested at all.”