Kirk Cousins may be new to the Minnesota Vikings but he is already drawing a ton of praise from his teammates, including wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Adam Thielen has been an amazing acquisition for the Minnesota Vikings. By now, fans everywhere know his story of rising from a small school in Minnesota to becoming a starting wide receiver in the NFL.
However, things haven’t been easy for Thielen. Over the years, he’s had to work his way up the depth chart and deal with a number of offensive coordinators and quarterbacks throwing him the ball.
Kirk Cousins is scheduled to be the next quarterback to throw a regular season pass to Thielen and from the sound of things, the sure-handed receiver is liking what he’s been seeing from his new quarterback.
In an article on the CBS Sports website, Thielen praised the work of Cousins following the team’s night practice in Eagan, Minnesota.
"“He’s been doing a phenomenal job,” said Thielen."
Not good. Not great. But PHENOMENAL! That’s a word you don’t hear get thrown around a lot as a descriptor. Then again, Thielen hasn’t exactly had many 4,000 yard passers in a season throwing him the football during his NFL career.
That said, the Vikings 1,000-yard receiver from last year knows that he will have to get on the same page as Cousins and continue to work hard in order for the two to have success on the football field together.
"“I think, me personally, I need to do a better job for him … we talk a lot about it in the receiver room, just making sure that we’re making plays so he feels comfortable throwing anything to us.”"
The last time Cousins had a 1,000-yard receiver was during the 2016 NFL season when Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson both crossed that mark and three other pass catchers ended up with over 500 yards through the air.
Based on the past success of Cousins, there is a chance the combination of Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Dalvin Cook, and others could have career-best numbers this season in the passing game, especially if the quarterback can look ‘phenomenal’ during the regular season.
Fans can see Adam Thielen, Kirk Cousins, and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings when they kick off the preseason on August 11, 2018 against the Denver Broncos on the NFL Network.