NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of the top young receivers in the National Football League can trace his roots all the way back to Poplar Bluff
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison came to Minneapolis from the University of Southern California in 2023, but his family roots are in Poplar Bluff — and that family has supported and cheered him on throughout his football career.
Addison’s grandfather, Lee James Gladney, was born and raised in Poplar Bluff. He and his wife (and Jordan’s grandmother), Tina Blackman Gladney, now reside in Maryland.
Addison’s great-uncle Jimmie Gladney played football for the Poplar Bluff Mules and won the Carr Trophy in 1983, which recognizes the most outstanding football player in Southeast Missouri.
In his most recent game this past Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, Addison made an electrifying catch-and-run for a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Vikings a lead they would not relinquish in a 23-13 win.
“It felt good,” Addison said. “To get rolling early, it always gives you a lot of confidence when you start fast.”
The 23-13 win was the Vikings’ third consecutive win over AFC South teams. They improved to 8-2 on the season, one game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North and currently holding the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs.
Lee James Gladney said that Addison has been playing football practically all his life, beginning when he was five years old. “Football is his life,” he said.
“Jordan always wanted to go to the NFL,” Lee James Gladney said. “He is proof that dreams do come true.”
Addison has played an important role in the Vikings’ aerial attack since the team drafted him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, adding him to one of the best wide receiver groups in in the league, a group which includes All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
Prior to transferring to USC, Addison won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2021 while a receiver for the University of Pittsburgh, an honor bestowed on the top wide receiver in college football.
Now in his second season in Minnesota, his career NFL stats are 94 catches for 1,270 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Addison said that his family has helped shape who he is as a player and a person.
“They’ve always been by my side, helping me go through adversity and things throughout life,” he said. “They were always there with me, supporting me, making sure I just keep going.”
Addison’s first-quarter touchdown came on the Vikings’ second possession of the game, which followed a first possession fumble that allowed Tennessee to take a 3-0 lead. Minnesota never trailed again against the Titans.
Addison assisted with the Vikings next touchdown, taking a helmet to the chest in the end zone for an unnecessary roughness penalty that converted a fourth-down miss to a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. Quarterback Sam Darnold ultimately snuck the ball in for Minnesota’s second touchdown of the first half, giving the Vikings a 13-3 lead.
On the Vikings’ last drive of the half, Addison caught a 16-yard pass in the middle of the field on second and 12 that moved to ball to the Titans’ 37-yard line.
At the end of that drive, Addison made a leaping catch on third-and-12 near the Tennessee goal line but came down out of bounds, and the pass was ruled incomplete. The Vikings kicked a field goal and led 16-3 at halftime.
He began to experience cramps in his right leg in the fourth quarter, and while the training staff tried to help him get back in the game, he wouldn’t play again. He said after the game, however, that the leg was “all good.”
Addison’s statistics on the day against Tennessee were three catches on eight targets for 61 yards and one touchdown. Each of his three receptions were impactful for the Vikings offense, and he also withstood hard hits on a couple of incomplete passes.
“Jordan played well,” Lee James Gladney said after the game. “He was solid other than taking those big hits, but he’s a tough dude.”
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