With the deadline for college underclassmen fast approaching, the 2023 NFL Draft Class secured another top prospect Monday morning with USC WR Jordan Addison declaring for the draft.
Jordan Addison won the Biletnikoff Award last season playing with Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett at Pitt, posting one of the best receiving seasons in school history with 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 TDs along with eight carries for 56 yards and a score. Addison transferred to USC this season and has since cemented himself as a first-round prospect, becoming a real threat both in the quick game near the LOS as well as down the field, whether it be vertically or improvising to give his QB an open target. He plays stronger than his size suggests, winning jump balls with impressive body control. He missed time this season with an ankle injury, but still played in 11 games and caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight TDs.
Addison is projected to be one of the top WRs drafted this spring, meaning that any team that chooses to select him would have to use their first-round pick in him to secure him. While wide receiver isn’t Pittsburgh’s top need on the roster, other teams have seen success pairing former college teammates together in the pros. The Bengals drafted Ja’Marr Chase to give Joe Burrow a reliable weapon he already has some chemistry with as well as the Eagles drafted DeVonta Smith to team up with Jalen Hurts after their time in Alabama along with Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle doing the same thing in Miami.
Perhaps we could see the same thing this spring with Pittsburgh after Pickett and Addison went on to re-write the record books together at Pitt 2021, providing Pittsburgh a legitimate receiving threat to bolster their mediocre passing game from a season ago.
