There was a time when there was a healthy debate as to who was the Minnesota Vikings’ best receiver — Adam Thielen or Stefon Diggs. Nobody is asking who Minnesota’s best receiver is now — clearly Justin Jefferson — but as Thielen’s production has gone down, he has turned into a touchdown machine.
Below, we look at Adam Thielen‘s 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.
In 2018-19 (32 games), Thielen caught 204 passes for 2,649 yards and 13 TDs. Over the last 3 seasons (38 games), he has caught 171 passes for 2,069 yards, but 30 TDs, including 24 in the 28 games he has played the last 2 years.
Adam Thielen’s ADP: 54.46
(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)
As the clear No. 2 receiver in the offense, Thielen’s saving grace is his uncanny route running and rapport with quarterback Kirk Cousins to get to a spot where he can make a spectacular catch for a score — which he does often.
His ADP puts him in a crowded field of 6th-round receivers in a 10-player league. He finds himself behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions) at 52.78 and DK Metcalf (Seattle Seahawks) at 53.18 and slightly ahead of Brandin Cooks (Houston Texans) at 56.08 and Michael Thomas (New Orleans Saints) at 56.56.
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Adam Thielen’s 2021 stats
Games: 13
Receptions | targets: 67 | 95
Receiving yards: 726
Receiving touchdowns: 10
Where should you draft Thielen?
His reduced production and growing injury history are concerning, but 2 things play in Thielen’s favor — his work ethic and Cousins.
Thielen is a technician on the field and, with all the drama that has surrounded Cousins’ time in Minnesota — he may be the least-loved quarterback by his home fan base outside of New York — Cousins has locked in on Thielen when Minnesota is in scoring territory like few QB-WR tandems.
Thielen has developed into 1 of the smartest downfield receivers in the league and has perfected the sideline back shoulder catch. If Cousins throws to a spot, he finds a way to get there as the ball is arriving. With defenses paying a lot more attention to Jefferson, Thielen is seeing a lot more single coverage.
His ranking is pretty close to spot on, although I’m inclined to bump him up a spot or 2. At this point in his career, being a fantasy WR3 is an ideal spot for him because if he continues to score touchdowns at the rate he does — about one a game over the last 2 years — he will be pushing fantasy owners to play him more weeks than not.
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