Jordan Addison, NFL Draft Wide Receiver Prospect

We continue this Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio at the NFL Draft, getting set for tomorrow's big night inside the P&G style lounge. On behalf of Gillette and now joining us from Pitt and USC, NFL wide receiver soon to be coming up in 24 hours.

That is Jordan Addison. Jordan, appreciate the time. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm doing fantastic.

Appreciate you doing this. So you had a great year. Best wide receiver in the country at Pitt and you just had a wonderful experience at USC. How do you look back at what was year one of Lincoln Riley at USC?

Oh, just a lot of fun. You know, a lot of excitement from the beginning, from before the season, just the buzz going around. And I feel like we we did a good job of taking care of all that hype that was around us. Caleb Williams, we know we're going to be talking about him nonstop. We did the last year.

We're going to do so this year. His stock already people thinking he'll be the number one overall pick. What is it like to play with a player like Caleb Williams? It just makes it easier on me. You know, having a great quarterback that can extend plays when something goes wrong or the accuracy and arm talent to make the catches easier for me. So just playing with him is just just been everything.

It's just all positive. You know how big timing is and chemistry is and building those relationships. So many new names got to USC last year. And you guys had a pretty successful season. Why was everyone able to come together really quickly? Because a lot of people going into that team was, you know, transfers. So we always coming in like it was day one, like we was all freshmen. So we kind of leaned on each other and trusted each other to get through it.

And it's always good having a brother right there going and going through it with you. It's USC. It's totally different than Pitt, the brand, Lincoln Riley being there, Caleb Williams being there as well. What made you want to transfer and say, okay, I want to continue and wrap up my college football career at USC?

First, just the experience that I'll be able to experience going out to Southern California and connecting with people that I'll be able to connect with me making them connections. And then it was just you know, the quarterback that they had. I talked to him a lot during that process. And then Lincoln Riley, the offense guru. With Lincoln Riley, he had a wonderful career at Oklahoma. Now taking on another challenge at USC at Oklahoma. Won a lot, but didn't win a national championship. Didn't get even to a national championship game. It's big time success what he did to bring USC back in year one. But where's your confidence level that Lincoln Riley hit the Trojans to hoist a college football playoff championship trophy? You know, like you said, just with this year one, you see how close we got. We let it slip through our fingers, but that ain't gonna keep happening.

He gonna go get him one. Jordan Addison here with us. Two years ago, best wide receiver in the game. Now this year, people are wondering who that number one wide receiver is in this draft. Why are you the best wide receiver in this draft class? Because I feel like I'm the most versatile.

I can play inside and outside. And then when that pressure on the most is when I shine the birdies. What has this experience been like ever since you wrapped up at USC and you say, okay, I'm going to pursue the NFL journey. There's so many different things that get thrown your way in this process. Some you control, some you can't. How do you look back at this process now with it coming to a close?

I always look back at it in a positive way because I know I only get one chance to do it. It's been nonstop since the season ended, but you know, I've made a lot of relationships and I'm just enjoying the process. Who have you had the most conversations with? Because everyone's trying to figure out where you're going to go in this draft.

Team wise, I talked to pretty much every team, so I can't really point out one specific. So you have no clue. Like nothing would surprise you tomorrow night.

Nothing. I'm just hoping I get picked. First receiver. Jordan Addison here with us.

What is it like? I know there's a bunch of wide receivers at this event right now. Quinnen Johnson's here.

You have Jackson Smith and Jigba as well as Zay Flowers. Getting to know these guys a little bit more. What's that been like for you? It's been a lot of fun. You know, just seeing them on the field with their helmets on and stuff, you don't really know how they are personally.

But everybody that's in this vicinity is a great group of guys, great personality, and it's just been fun hanging around them. How do you look back at your time at Pitt with Kenny Pickett and also Pat Narduzzi? That was a great time. We won an ACC championship. Got a lot of friends still there currently.

Belinda Koffarwar. So every time I look back, it's all positive. When you look at playing with Kenny Pickett, he had a good year one in the NFL. What type of pro do you think he'll continue to develop into in the NFL? I think he's going to be a top quarterback into the NFL. A lot of people might not see it, but just his work ethic and being around him and his confidence, I know he's going to show people that. When did you know that Kenny Pickett was that dude?

Day one. When I first walked in, just a swagger he had him by himself when he stepped on the field. There's always these crazy things that get thrown out there throughout the draft process.

For Kenny Pickett, his hands are small. And I was like, who cares? I just saw the way that he played in college at Pitt and what he was able to do, winning that ACC championship like you were talking about. When you look back at your draft process, was there anything that was thrown out there or said about you that annoyed you a little bit? Probably just my size.

That was probably just the main thing. But, you know, I'm going to show people I don't really got to say too much. I'm going to show them what I can do.

Wrapping up with Jordan Addison here. When you get to tomorrow night, you probably have so many emotions going through your body right now. If you just like take a deep breath and you're able to process this right now as you're one day away, just what's going through your head and how are you processing all this? Really just trying to stay calm. I'm calm right now, but ain't no telling how I'm going to be tomorrow.

So I'm just looking forward to it and enjoying this experience because not a lot of people get to do it. How about the outfit? What's the outfit looking like tomorrow?

Because the watch is really nice right now. The outfit going to look sweet. Just stay tuned. I ain't going to say too much right now, but just tune in. Y'all tune in. Tune in.

All right. Tell me what you're doing today on behalf of Gillette. Getting a clean shave. Looking good.

Making sure I'm feeling good. Of course, Jordan Addison inside the PNG lounge. Before we let you run, growing up as a kid, what type of football fan were you?

Crazy football fan. Who were some of your favorite players? Players?

I'd say Michael Vick, Odell Beckham, Randy Moss. And also recently in the NFL, we've seen guys like Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase come on in and make that immediate impact right away. Day one, what does Jordan Addison bring to a football team? Day one, Jordan Addison is bringing a lot of plays. I'm a playmaker. I'm going to be the same guy every day.

Confident. I'm trying to go to the playoffs, win rookie of the year. I'm trying to accomplish a lot. Well, good luck. We appreciate the time. Thank you. Thank you.