5 most trusted pass-catchers for Vikings QB Kirk Cousins
By Dustin Baker
1. Adam Thielen
With Cousins:
- Yards per Target: 8.91 yards
- Percentage of Touchdowns to Target: 7.46 percent
- Percentage of First Downs to Target: 45.77 percent
If 2019 was The Stefon Diggs Show, then 2018 was The Adam Thielen Show. Fans and pundits strangely forget that about Thielen’s 2018 campaign, at least when sizing up Diggs’ recent performance as a comparison.
Two seasons ago, Adam Thielen had the best season via receiving yards by a Vikings wide receiver that team had seen since 2003. In that year, Randy Moss accounted for 1,632 yards. In 2018, Thielen banked 1,373 yards. In fact, Thielen’s 2018 season was the fourth-best ever by a Minnesota pass catcher. What’s more, Cris Carter, Anthony Carter, Jake Reed, or Ahmad Rashad never exceeded the 1,373 receiving yards in a single season.
Need more evidence that Thielen is Cousins’ favorite target? At the top of your screen, you see the three per-target metrics. Thielen bests Diggs in all of them.
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Diggs was Cousins’ go-to receiver in Adam Thielen’s absence; that is undeniable. But as a whole, Thielen has been more productive when targeted by Kirk Cousins.