The Minnesota Vikings are still more than 30 days away from the start of Week 1 of the regular season, yet it appears as if J.J. McCarthy could already be without two of his most prominent weapons by the time their campaign gets started. The Vikings’ standout WR2 in Jordan Addison, has officially received a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy thanks to a DUI case from July of 2024, and the punishment could not have come at a more inopportune time for the Vikings.
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Justin Jefferson, the team’s perennial WR1, is currently contending with a hamstring injury that has brought his availability for Week 1 into question. As of writing, he’s expected to be able to suit up on September 8th, but with Addison’s newfound suspension, the team now finds itself in a rather uncertain situation.
Suffice to say, that’s more than enough for CBS Sports’ Jamey Eisenberg to predict a “shaky” start to the development of McCarthy. “We’ve seen mixed results from McCarthy,” he explained during his most recent appearance on CBS Sports HQ.
“Part of that is Jefferson missing time with a hamstring injury. I also think another part of it is he’s going against one of the better defenses in the league with Brian Flores throwing a lot of stuff at him. Not having Addison is going to hurt McCarthy, but yes, there are a lot of questions in regards to the three main pass catchers of Jefferson, Addison, and Hockenson…”
Unfortunately, the former Michigan quarterback won’t be the only one impacted by Addison’s suspension. Throughout the back-half of the 2024 season, Addison managed to produce a pair of 130+ receiving yard performances en route to finishing as the WR25 on a points per game basis.
According to Eisenberg, the suspension has been baked into his ADP throughout the entire offseason, but even though player’s are getting him at a discounted price, it will still take an enormous effort for Addison to produce similar totals in 2025.
“He was, without a suspension, going to be drafted as a borderline starter in two receiver leagues and a definite started in three receiver leagues. Now, I think you just approach it as, there’s no bye weeks in the first three weeks of the season. You just take him as one of your high-end reserves with the potential of, when he does comeback, that he’s playing at the level that he’s shown in the first two years of his career.”
At this point in time, Jailen Nailor is beginning to see his ADP surge, as the potential for him to become the WR1 throughout the first weeks of the season seems increasingly likely. Any complications at all with the aforementioned hamstring of Jefferson is all it will take for Nailor to become one of the best flex spot options in the league, but given the amount of fantasy and dynasty rosters that “Jettas” already resides on, both football fans and the Vikings themselves will be hoping for a smooth recovery throughout the next several weeks.
