When Adam Thielen was released by the Vikings seven months ago, the common belief was the move made sense because Thielen was aging, showing signs of regression and cutting him would help Minnesota walk the salary cap tight rope.
The salary cap part was never in question, but Thielen, at age 33, is proving himself correct, having said immediately after last season ended that he has "a lot of ball left" and "I feel like I can play at a high level."
Now with the winless Carolina Panthers, Thielen is putting up big numbers. He's second in the NFL with 49 receptions, his 509 receiving yards ranks ninth and he's tied fourth with four touchdown catches. He's averaging 8.1 catches for 84.8 yards per game.
Thielen is on pace to finish the season with 138 catches, 1,442 yards and 11 touchdowns. Not bad for the guy from Division II Minnesota State-Mankato who hasn't eclipsed 1,000 yards in a season since 2018.
Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, only 30 players age 33 or older have posted 70 catches or more in a season. Only 28 of those players have been able to post a 1,000-yard season and only seven players have scored 10 or more touchdowns in a season.
Thielen has been rookie quarterback Bryce Young's go-to option. He's been targeted 59 times and hauled in 83% of those passes. And as always seemed to be the case during his days in Minnesota, most of his receptions – 33 of 49 – lead to first downs.
Thielen is averaging 9.8 targets per game, the most since Kirk Cousins threw his way 9.5 times per game in 2018 when he finished with 113 catches for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns.
Injuries derailed Thielen's 2019 season and then Justin Jefferson arrived in 2020, rightfully stealing the spotlight and targets. Thielen was targeted 7.2 times per game in 2020, 7.3 per game in 2021 and 6.3 in 2022.
Thielen already has three games with 11 receptions this season and he's had at least seven catches in five of six games. Take away his two-catch dud in the opener and the Detroit Lakes native is basically averaging 10 catches for 100 yards per game. He had just one game with double-digit receptions in his last four seasons in Minnesota.
If you strip away the worries about his age and salary, it's a tale as old as time that remains true: Throw Thielen the ball and good things happen.
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