The NFL announced Tuesday that it is suspending Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison for the first three games of the season due to his violation of the league's Substances of Abuse Policy.
Addison will miss the Vikings' first three games of the 2025 season: (1) at the Chicago Bears, (2) home against the Atlanta Falcons, and (3) home against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Does the finalization of Addison's ban affect his value in fantasy football drafts? Will any Vikings players pick up extra stats in his absence? Read on for the initial reaction.
What's Jordan Addison's fantasy value now that he's suspended?
The early fantasy NFL draft market was already pricing in a league-imposed absence, slotting him at 79th overall as WR35.
Fantasy drafters could still consider Addison a low-end WR3, as long as they prepare properly for his absence.
Kevin O'Connell's offensive system helped the USC alum continue his success during his sophomore season (63 catches, 875 yards, 9 TD) as the complement to No. 1 receiver Justin Jefferson.
The other chief question surrounding Addison is how smooth the transition will be from the exiting Sam Darnold to "rookie" quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who wasn't asked to pass downfield often during his college tenure for Michigan, the 2023 national champions.
Much of Addison's value comes from his air yardage that sets him up for big plays. He ranked 18th among NFL pass-catchers with 1,284 air yards last year, per FantasyPros.
Here's McCarthy trying his best to put those concerns to rest in camp:
Letting it riiiiiiiiiip 🎯🎯@jjmccarthy09
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 26, 2025
📺: Back Together Weekend on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/pO1wTTjLaj
At the price of a top-36 wideout, the floor is low enough for him to surpass expectations on both the suspension and the QB uncertainty fronts -- especially if he falls into the 40s at his position's ADP. Buy any dip.
What Jordan Addison's suspension means for Vikings fantasy players
QB J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy is worth drafting in 1QB leagues but is mostly a stash in those games, more primarily a sound target for superflex, 2QB, and dynasty setups.
In the latter group, McCarthy could still provide useful QB2 numbers in that three-game window.
WR Justin Jefferson
Though Jefferson likely won't be impacted by this expected suspension, his current hamstring injury should be watched.
TE T.J. Hockenson
Any targets left behind for the first three weeks by one or both wideouts would mostly shift toward tight end T.J. Hockenson, who's oming off his erratic but promising return in 2024 following recovery from ACL and MCL tears in his right knee.
Hockenson is already being drafted as a top-5 tight end.
RBs Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason
This duo already is slated for split work, and both fantasy RB3s could see extra routes in Addison's absence.
No need to adjust their value too much.
WR Jalen Nailor
The Michigan State alum scored 6 touchdowns last season, including one in each of the first three games. Nailor didn't record much volume across those games, though, catching 7 of 9 targets total.
Still, fantasy managers in deeper leagues could take a waiver-wire streamer risk with Nailor if they're in a bind with either Addison or Jefferson, especially if the latter's injury prognosis worsens after fantasy drafts.