6 areas where Adam Thielen is better than Stefon Diggs

Area No. 6 – Catch Percentage or “Hands”

The variance between Thielen and Diggs here is a mere smidgen. The immensity of the Vikings’ success at the wide receiver position in recent years is attributed to the adroit hands of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. It is not necessarily taken for granted. But if one is looking to comprehend how Diggs and Thielen became so formidable–look no further than their hands and acumen to physically catch the football. In that respect, they are unexpected and self-made stars.

This feels like a borderline nitpick, but it is imperative for the totality of the comparison. In his career, Adam Thielen has a catch percentage of 69.3. This is better than Diggs by nearly a percentage point at 68.4.

Of all wide receivers in the last decade that have started 50 games or more, Thielen’s catch percentage ranks fifth in NFL; Diggs ranks 10th. This is especially profound because 80 wide receivers qualify.

Plus, it is not necessarily that both Diggs and Thielen were beset by far fewer dropped passes than other players. Well, to an extent this is true. But as a whole, each player witnessed his respective catch percentage climb the ranks because of frequent receptions of balls “they had no business catching.”