Many of the top receivers in the NFL are recognizable by their first name or even their initials. Say OBJ, AB, Julio or Tyreek to any football fan and they will know to whom you are referring.
But all of those players are looking up at a man named Adam when it comes to the stats this season. Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is not a household name, but he will be if he continues to play the way he has to start the 2018 season.
Thielen has 10 more receptions than anyone else in the NFL with 58 through six games. He has five more yards than Julio Jones to lead the league with 712. He is averaging a league-best 118.7 yards per game. He has at least 100 yards receiving in each of the Vikings’ first six games, an NFL record for the start of a season.
A banged-up Jets secondary is the only thing standing between Thielen and a seventh consecutive 100-yard game. When the Vikings come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday, stopping Thielen will be a top priority for the Jets defense.
Good luck.
“He’s outstanding,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s tough. You can see that he’s tough. He’s extremely smart. He’s seen every coverage that you can throw at him. Outstanding hands, you can tell he’s a competitor of the highest level. Whether you double him, triple him or single him or play zone, he finds a way to get open and get it done. It’s rare to find a No. 1 receiver — they have two of them actually [with Stefon Diggs] — that can get open when they know you’re doubling them and just doesn’t quit and gets open. He has that special gift.”
Thielen’s story is remarkable. He grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minn., and went to Division II Minnesota State on a $500 scholarship. As a senior, he had 1,100 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, not enough to get an invitation from the NFL to attend the scouting combine. He paid his own way to attend a regional combine in Chicago. These events are not even attended by scouts, but data is collected and sent to NFL teams. He ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash that caught the eye of a few teams. The Vikings invited Thielen to their rookie minicamp for a tryout and he impressed them enough to get signed.
Thielen spent a year on the Vikings’ practice squad before joining the active roster in 2014. His numbers have gotten better and better and he made the Pro Bowl last year after a 91-catch season with 1,276 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
This season, he has clicked with new Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and is putting up eye-popping numbers.
The Jets are expected to be without starting cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Buster Skrine as well as safety Marcus Maye, who are all injured. Thielen plays in the slot most of the time, meaning he likely will be matched up with rookie Parry Nickerson, who is playing in place of Skrine.
“He has great separation out of his breaks, a great catch radius and great hands,” Nickerson said. “I just have to play my game, play what coach has installed in the game plan.”
Adding to the task for the Jets is Diggs playing alongside Thielen. He has 40 catches himself this season.
“It’s a huge challenge,” Bowles said. “Obviously, we get challenged every week, but these two guys do everything well. Usually you get a speed guy or a deep guy or a short guy. Both of these guys do everything.”
Safety Jamal Adams knows what kind of challenge Thielen presents for the Jets this week.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Adams said. “It’s not that he just works hard and they want to get him the ball. The guy can actually play. He can play football. He was undrafted and went through a different path. He’s made a name for himself, and I respect him.”