Former NFL players disrespect Adam Thielen’s performance this season

Current NFL Network analysts and former NFL players James Jones and Reggie Wayne are not impressed by the Minnesota Vikings receiver this year.

Eight games into the 2018 NFL season, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen leads the league in catches (74) and receiving yards (925). Thielen’s six touchdown catches are also the third-most among NFL receivers this year.

The Vikings pass catcher has also gained over 100 yards in every game he has played in this season, tying an NFL record.

Despite his performance so far, some people are still not sold on Thielen being one the best wide receivers in the league this year. Among those in this group of doubters are former NFL pass catchers James Jones and Reggie Wayne.

Both are currently analysts for NFL Network and they recently sat down to discuss who their top five receivers are up to this point in the 2018 season.

Wayne included Thielen at No. 5 on his list, but he also threw in a nice backhanded complement saying that the Minnesota receiver’s success this year is because, “he’s got 96 targets,” which is also the most in the league right now.

So if Thielen’s big numbers this season are only a result of him being targeted a lot, then what’s the excuse for Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham not having amazing stats despite being targeted over 90 times this year?

On 94 targets this season, Landry has 49 catches for 528 yards and two touchdowns and Beckham has caught 61 of his 91 targets for 785 yards and two scores. But according to Wayne’s logic, both receivers should be putting up similar numbers to Thielen, right?

Jones, a former Green Bay Packers receiver, later revealed his top five choices and his list did not even include Thielen.

Excuse me? How does someone come up with a legitimate list of the top wide receivers in the NFL this season and not include the guy who currently leads the league in catches and receiving yards?

Instead, to no one’s surprise, Jones included Packers wide receiver Davante Adams among his top five this year. Adams is averaging only one less target per game than Thielen this season and yet the Vikings receiver is still maintaining a higher average for yards and catches per week.

Jones also added the following to explain why he doesn’t believe Thielen is among the five best receivers this season.

Minnesota Vikings

"“Adam Thielen is balling (this season). But they played the Saints this weekend and (Marshon) Lattimore, the Saints’ best corner, followed (Stefon) Diggs. Why?(Thielen) has 100 yards a game for seven straight games. Why are you going over there with Diggs? Because he’s the problem. He’s the reason why Adam Thielen is getting all these targets and getting open. You’ve got the second corner on him.”"

What Jones failed to mention is that Thielen has lined up in the slot a bunch this season, 61.9 percent of his total snaps to be exact. Lattimore is hardly ever asked by his defense to cover slot receivers (just 10 coverage snaps in the slot this year), which is why he didn’t cover Thielen for the majority of the game last Sunday.

If Jones or Wayne want to discredit Thielen’s success this season or state that he isn’t currently among the five best receivers in the NFL, then they should probably practice a little thing known as research.

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