The impressive play of their wide receiver this season is big reason why the Minnesota Vikings are currently sitting with an 8-2 record.
As the Minnesota Vikings were looking to add to their seven-point lead in the fourth quarter of their matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, their offense lined up for a 2nd and 10 from their own 35-yard line. Vikings quarterback Case Keenum took the snap and quickly fired a pass to his left in the direction of wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Once Thielen got the ball in his hands and got past Rams corner Dominique Hatfield, the Minnesota receiver ran 65 yards for the touchdown. The score pretty much put a dagger in any chance of Los Angeles coming back to win the game on Sunday.
His touchdown against the Rams is just the latest moment from Thielen’s epic 2017 season that the Vikings franchise has not seen from a wide receiver in a long time. Stefon Diggs may be the top receiver on Minnesota’s depth chart this year, but Thielen has easily been their best pass-catcher of 2017.
Thielen by the numbers in 2017
After finishing 2016 with new single-season career highs in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns, Adam Thielen is on pace to easily set new highs in each of these three categories.
In each game this year, Thielen has either finished with five, eight, or nine catches. At his current pace, he has a decent possibility to be the first Vikings receiver since Randy Moss in 2003 to end a season with at least 100 catches.
Currently, Thielen ranks second in the NFL with 916 receiving yards this year. More than anyone else in the entire league not named Antonio Brown.
There is a small chance, but still a chance, that Thielen could end 2017 leading the NFL in receiving yards. If he does, he would be the first player in Minnesota team history to do so.
Not only has Thielen been racking up the numbers on the stat sheet, but he has been making plays when they matter the most.
Of his 42 catches on 2nd and 3rd down this season, 81 percent of them have been converted into a 1st down. That percentage is higher than other receiving greats around the NFL this year including DeAndre Hopkins (75 percent), Antonio Brown (73), Julio Jones (68), and A.J. Green (67).
Thielen’s value to the Vikings’ roster
There have been a bunch of instances in the NFL’s history where an MVP has been named based solely on a player’s statistical output despite that player’s team not performing equally as well during the season (see Adrian Peterson in 2012, Barry Sanders in 1997).
But in the case for Thielen, the receiver has had a lot to do with Minnesota getting off to an 8-2 start this year. And without him, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum might not be succeeding as much as he has been this season.
Minnesota Vikings
When Stefon Diggs missed a couple of games earlier in the year, Thielen was the guy Keenum turned to when he needed a play to be made. Since then, Keenum has been trying to get Thielen the ball as much as possible.
From Week 1 to Week 5 with he and Diggs both on the field, Thielen was averaging eight targets per game. Since Week 6 when Diggs sat out with a groin injury (and also in Week 7), Thielen has seen his targets increase to 11.2 per matchup.
During that same time span, Minnesota also saw their scoring average increase from 19.8 points per game during the first five weeks to 28.4 points per game in their last five matchups.
Thielen was given more opportunities when Diggs was out and now even with Diggs back on the field, Keenum is still attempting to get the ball in Thielen’s hands as much as he can.
Next: Vikings' ups and downs from win over Rams
The Vikings getting the ball to Thielen more has been a big part of the team winning their last six games and suffering only two losses all season long. His performance so far and the impact it has made on his team is exactly why Thielen should be among the current candidates for the 2017 NFL MVP award.