Adam Thielen could finish with more yards than any Vikings WR other than Randy Moss

Vikings Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen already reached one major yardage milestone this season.

December 21, 2017 at 7:05PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Vikings Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen already reached one major yardage milestone this season when he became the first Minnesota receiver since Sidney Rice in 2009 to top 1,000 yards.

But here's an even better honor still within reach for Thielen:

With two games left, Thielen has 1,191 receiving yards. That puts him No. 14 on the Vikings' all-time single-season list — not bad, but again he has two games remaining.

If he hits his season average of 85 yards Saturday against Green Bay, he'll move into the top 10. If he hits that average again in two weeks against Chicago — assuming the Vikings have something to play for in that game and all the regulars play four quarters — he would move into the top five.

And if he gets 181 yards or more between the next two games, he would finish in the top four, beating Cris Carter's best season of 1,371 yards in 1995. If Thielen did that, he would have the most receiving yards in a season of any Vikings receiver other than Randy Moss, who holds the top three spots.

With a couple of monster games, it's even conceivable Thielen could top two of those Moss seasons (1,413 yards in 1999 and 1,437 in 2000), though Moss' team record of 1,632 in 2003 seems safe.

Still, the fact that Thielen — an undrafted free agent who grew up in Minnesota idolozing Moss — could pass Carter and have only Moss above him in the team record books is pretty amazing.

about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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