Adam Thielen is an American football wide receiver and currently plies his trade in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, after signing with the franchise on March 16, 2022. He was initially drafted by the Commanders in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft as the 76th overall pick.

Who is Adam Thielen?

Adam Thielen was born on August 22, 1990, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He did his schooling at Detroit Lakes High School there. He was involved in sports heavily from the start participating in four sports- American football, basketball, baseball, and golf. He chose to pursue football eventually and committed to Minnesota State Mankato University to play his collegiate football for the Mavericks from 2008–2012. 

Also read: Who is Baker Mayfield?

Thielen redshirted his freshman year in 2008 and made 9 appearances as a redshirt freshman the following year making 21 receptions for 252 yards and a touchdown. By the end of his four years at Minnesota State, Thielen finished near the top of several career-receiving categories for the Mavericks including finishing second in receiving yards (2,802), second in receptions (198), and third in touchdown catches (20).

Thielen went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft, and after attending rookie tryout and evaluation sessions with the Minnesota Vikings, he got signed to a 3-year $1.48 million contract with the Vikings. His fine performances in preseason helped him earn a spot on the 53-man roster ahead of the 2014 season. 

He made his NFL debut in the season-opener against the St Louis Rams and enjoyed a fruitful rookie season, notably getting named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 13. That season Thielen finished with eight catches for 137 yards (17.1 avg) and a touchdown on offence. As a special teams player, Thielen was named to the All-Pro Special Teams Kick Return Unit and was named All-NFC North Special Team Player of the Year by Pro Football Focus.

Also read: Jerry Jones expects injured Dallas Cowboys LT Tyron Smith to return

The following season, 2015, saw him continue to excel as a special teams player- he even got named the Vikings’ Special Team Player of the Year for 2015. 

In the 2016 season, he hit the 100 receiving yards mark in a game for the first time against the Houston Texans after injuries opened up a spot for him. That year Thielen ended up leading the Vikings with 967 receiving yards, while also adding a career-high 69 catches and five touchdowns. In fact, His 10.0 yards per target and 75.0% catch rate ranked in the top five players among NFL wide receivers, and NFL.com named Thielen as their “Unsung Hero” for the Minnesota Vikings.

Thielen signed a 3-year contract extension in March 2017 and his rise continued in the 2017 season as he got ranked 36th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018 after his first 1000-yard plus season in the NFL- becoming the first Viking to surpass the mark since 2009. In 2018, he enjoyed a second consecutive 1,000 yards plus season after he finished the season with 113 receptions for 1,373 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns, once again getting high in the list of the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019 where he was ranked 33 by his peers. 

Also read: Collin Johnson carted off with leg injury during New York Giants practice

In April 2019, and with 1 year remaining on his existing deal, his purple patch forced the Vikings to tie him down to a fresh, lucrative 4- year contract worth $64 million, of which $35 million was guaranteed. In 2020, Thielen finished the season with 14 receiving touchdowns, which were the most in franchise history since 2000. He got to double digits the following season too, with 10 receiving touchdowns in 2021.