5 eye-popping statistics about Vikings WR Adam Thielen

Stat No. 1

"If Adam Thielen hauls in 94 receptions in 2020, he will have more receptions in the first seven seasons of his career than Dallas Cowboys icon Michael Irvin."

This is especially noteworthy because Thielen was effectively a special teams specialist for two seasons. It should be noted that the NFL has transformed more so into a pass-friendly league in Thielen’s era, but he also played less than 20 percent of Minnesota’s offensive snaps in 2014 and 2015.

Irvin was not a full-time wide receiver immediately in his career, but he also was not relegated to a special teams unit like Thielen.

In grabbing the hypothetical 94 receptions in 2020, Thielen will be at a more accelerant pace and will subsequently lap a group of pass-catchers that includes Anthony Carter, Haywood Jeffires, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Largent, Plaxico Burress, Jordy Nelson, Cris Collinsworth, and DeSean Jackson.

Again, this should be perceived as astonishing because Thielen was not a prototypical, every-down wide receiver in his first two seasons with the Vikings. Obtaining 94 catches in 2020 should not be viewed as unrealistic either considering he is, for the first time, Minnesota’s bonafide top option on its receiving corps.