Oct 29, 2017; London, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) celebrates after scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL International Series game at Twickenham Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bring the hometown kid home and let the best man win. From Week 1 to Week 3, Minnesota ventured into that precise scenario with Adam Thielen and Jalen Nailor.
The Vikings appear to have arrived at an answer.
Veteran receiver Adam Thielen was re-added prior to the season beginning at Soldier Field. Jordan Addison had been suspending and there were injuries to other pass catchers. Sensibly enough, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah opted to support sophomore J.J. McCarthy with some added pass-catching help. If Week 4 is any indication, Jalen Nailor is being viewed as the WR3 while Thielen slides down the depth chart.
Vikings Appear to Settle on New WR Depth Chart
The Vikings have four starters at receiver. Such is the claim from head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Consider a previous claim from Coach O’Connell: “Jalen Nailor’s been consistently on tape one of the guys that pops off the tape. I think Adam Thielen, although the targets and the reception numbers might not be there, he has been wildly impactful in my mind.”
Jul 28, 2022; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and wide receivers Justin Jefferson (18) and Adam Thielen (19) talk during training camp at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Whether Thielen has been “wildly impactful” is debatable, but the point remains: Kevin O’Connell wants it to be publicly known that there’s a high level of confidence in the team’s cluster of receivers.
The top twosome at the position is clear: Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. There’s then the bottom pair, two young fellas who are pretty established where they are: Tai Felton and Myles Price. Where there was some uncertainty rested in what was taking place in the middle of that group between Thielen and Nailor.
Consider where the statistics are for Nailor and Thielen to get a clearer view of what each is doing:
PlayerTargetsReceptionsYardsYards Per ReceptionTouchdownsJalen Nailor1789812.31Adam Thielen84379.30
In each instance, the numbers are quite modest across four games. Neither could reasonably be described as one of the NFL’s dominant receivers. Of the two, Nailor comes out ahead by a decent margin, though. Every major stat category looks better, a sensible outcome given that we’re comparing someone who is 26 to someone who is 35.
Folks, Zavier Scott has more impressive receiving numbers than Thielen.
The Vikings’ RB4 — someone getting into the game due to RB1 Aaron Jones and RB3 Ty Chandler being unavailable — is sitting on 9 targets for 7 catches, 63 yards, and 1 touchdown. The 9.0 yards-per-reception average is more modest than Thielen’s average, but we’re nevertheless talking about a very humble output from the Minnesota legend.
Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor (83) warms up before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
For whatever it’s worth, PFF says that Mr. Nailor is the way to go. The fourth-year player is sitting on a respectable 63.2 grade. Meanwhile, Mr. Thielen offers a below-average grade, one that sits at 54.6. Nailor comes in at 59th out of 118 receivers under consideration; Thielen comes in at 95th out of 118 receivers.
So, how to respond?
Well, Minnesota dropped Adam Thielen’s playing time. The Pittsburgh game in Week 4 had him down to just a dozen snaps. The same game had Jalen Nailor sitting at forty-eight snaps. Math nerds will therefore conclude that Nailor played four times as much as Thielen, suggesting that things are leaning in a pretty distinct direction.
In Week 5, the Vikings will be looking to overcome the Browns, a team that has welcomed former Vikings LT1 Cam Robinson to town while promoting Dillon Gabriel to QB1. Truth be told, Cleveland’s offense doesn’t inspire too much fear, but Minnesota will be playing with a pile of urgency due to the desire to climb up to 3-2 going into the Week 6 bye.
Oct 4, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans during the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Prying Adam Thielen away from the Panthers involved sending Carolina a 4th and 5th. The Vikings had a 5th and conditional 7th join as part of the deal. The deal hasn’t aged well in the opening month of the season, but maybe October will prove different.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
I’m the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]purpleptsd[dot]com. I am Canadian.
