Adam Thielen

Adam Thielen - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Adam Thielen

Adam John Thielen (born August 22, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Minnesota State Mavericks and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing for them for 10 seasons. Thielen holds several NFL records, including eight straight games over 100+ yards receiving, and 74 receptions in the first half of a season. Thielen also played in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

This profile of Adam Thielen covers Early Life and Family Background, Career and Rise to Fame, Pre-draft, Minnesota Vikings (first stint) and Carolina Panthers.

Early Life and Family Background of Adam Thielen

Born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, to Pete and Jayne Thielen, alongside his cousins, Adam grew up rooting for the Vikings and idolized Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss, wearing their Vikings jerseys while practicing in his back yard as a child. He attended Detroit Lakes High School, where he participated in four sports (football, basketball, baseball and golf). In football, he helped lead the Lakers to a 9–1 season and was an All-conference and All-state selection in his senior season. That same year, he also was a member of a Detroit Lakes golf team that won the 2008 2A Minnesota state championship.

Career and Rise to Fame of Adam Thielen

After redshirting the 2008 season at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Thielen played in nine games and caught 21 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown as a freshman in 2009. As a sophomore in 2010, he started in all 11 games and was named Minnesota State's Offensive Player of the Year in addition to the All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) South Division second-team after he led the team with 41 receptions for 686 yards and six touchdowns. In 2011, he started all 12 games and was a second-team All-NSIC South Division selection for the second-straight season as he hauled in 62 passes for 715 yards and five touchdowns on offense and also handled kick return (three kicks for 77 yards and a score) and punt return duties (22 punts for 217 yards). During the 2012 season, Thielen became the main target for Minnesota State's passing attack and was again the team's starting kick and punt returner, helping the Mavericks to a 13–1 record, as they advanced to the NCAA Semi-finals. He led the Minnesota State receiving corps with 74 receptions for 1,176 yards (15.9 avg) and eight touchdowns. For his efforts, Thielen was named to the NSIC South Division All-NSIC first-team, the Daktronics Super Region No. 3 second-team, and the Don Hansen Super Region second-team. Thielen finished near the top of several career receiving categories after his four years at Minnesota State including finishing second in receiving yards (2,802), second in receptions (198), and third in touchdown catches (20). As a Maverick, he notched five 100-yard receiving games, including a career-high of 167 against Southwest Minnesota State in 2012.

Pre-draft

Thielen did not receive an invitation to perform at the 2013 NFL Combine, but he did attend a Regional Combine in Chicago in March, where he performed well enough to warrant an invitation to the Super Regional Combine held in Dallas, Texas in April. There, he showcased his athletic ability, completing the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and impressing in the three-cone drill with a time of 6.77 seconds, a mark that would have placed him in the top 20 at the NFL Combine.

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

After going undrafted in the 2013 NFL draft, Thielen attended a rookie tryout and evaluation session at Winter Park with the Minnesota Vikings. On May 6, 2013, the Vikings signed Thielen to a three-year, $1.48 million contract as an undrafted free agent. On August 31, 2013, the Minnesota Vikings waived Thielen as part of their final roster cuts (along with 18 others), but he was signed to the practice squad the next day. He saw some preseason action as a wide receiver and on special teams.

After a strong preseason performance in both offense and special teams, Thielen earned a spot on the 53-man roster to start the 2014 campaign.

Thielen made his NFL debut in the season opener in a road game against the St. Louis Rams on September 7. In Week 5, he caught his first NFL pass in the Vikings' 42–10 road loss against the Green Bay Packers, finishing the game with four receptions for 57 yards that led the team in receiving. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of Week 13 after he scored his first NFL touchdown on a special teams play in which he blocked Carolina Panthers' punter Brad Nortman's kick and returned the ball 30 yards to the end zone. Thielen briefly held the record for the longest blocked punt returned for a touchdown in franchise history, but was beaten later in the second quarter with a 43-yarder from Everson Griffen as the Vikings had two blocked punts returned for touchdowns in the game. In Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Thielen scored his first receiving touchdown on a 44-yard pass from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, after which he promptly gave the ball to his wife (then fiancée) Caitlin.

For the season, Thielen totaled eight catches for 137 yards (17.1 avg) and a touchdown on offense. Also a special teams ace, 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 (PFF) after he finished tied for second in the team in special teams tackles with 12 (9 of them solo).

In Week 4, Thielen hauled in a career-high six passes for 70 yards in a road game at the eventual Super Bowl champions Denver Broncos. In the regular season finale road game against the Packers on January 3, 2016, for the NFC North division, the Vikings executed a fake punt during the first drive of the game in which Thielen ran for 41 yards. He carried the ball another time for 26 yards, totaling 67 yards on two carries that tied for second in Vikings history for rushing yards in a game by a wide receiver with the effort. He also added a 16-yard catch as the Vikings ultimately clinched the NFC North title. Thielen finished the season with 12 catches for 144 yards with a long of 30. In 2015, Thielen was honored as the Vikings Special Teams Player of the Year. His seven special teams tackles tied for second on the team.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Thielen), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.