Adam Thielen

Early years

Born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to Pete and Jayne Thielen, Thielen grew up rooting for the Vikings and idolized Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter, trying to imitate his famous tiptoe sideline catches in his own backyard as a child. He attended Detroit Lakes High School, where he participated in three sports (football, basketball, 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 2007 state championship.

College career

After redshirting the 2008 season at Minnesota State University, Thielen played in nine games and caught 21 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown as a freshman in 2009. In 2010, he started in all 11 games and was named Minnesota State's Offensive Player of the Year in addition to Second-Team All-NSIC South Division 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 5 touchdowns on offense and also handled kick return (3 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 a total of 1,176 yards (15.9 avg) and eight touchdowns. For his efforts, Thielen was named NSIC South Division All-NSIC First Team, the Daktronics Super Region No. 3 Second Team and 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.

Professional career

Thielen did not receive an invitation to perform at the 2013 NFL Combine, but he did attend a Regional Combine in Chicago on 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.

2013 season

After going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft, Thielen attended a rookie tryout and evaluation session at Winter Park with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings signed Thielen to an undrafted free agent contract after the tryout. He was released by the Vikings on August 31 (along with 18 others) to get to a 53-man roster but was signed to the practice squad the next day. He saw some preseason action as a wide receiver and on special teams.

2014 season

In the preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders, Thielen had one catch for 15 yards and three punt returns, including one 26-yard return. 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 opening game at St. Louis on September 9. In Week 5, he caught his first NFL pass in the Vikings' 42-10 loss at Green Bay, finishing the game with 4 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 beat 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 Teddy Bridgewater, after which he promptly gave the ball to his wife (then fiancée) Caitlin.

For the season, Thielen totalled 8 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).

2015 season

In 2015, Thielen was honored as the Vikings Special Teams Player of the Year. His seven special teams tackles ranked tied for second on the team. In Week 4, he hauled in a career-high 6 passes for 70 yards at eventual Super Bowl champion Denver. In the regular season finale game at Green Bay on January 3, 2016 for the NFC North, 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, totalling 67 yards on 2 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.

2016 season

In the second preseason game, an 18-11 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Thielen led all Vikings receivers with four catches for 61 yards. With Stefon Diggs sidelined due to a groin injury, Thielen received the starting nod in his place and had one of the best performances of his career against the Houston Texans, breaking 100 receiving yards in a game for the first time in his career as he finished the game with seven catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. In the Vikings' loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 10, Thielen caught his second touchdown of the season on a 3-yard toss from Sam Bradford and also carried the ball once for 11 yards. Thielen had a career-day on December 24, 2016 in a Week 16 loss to the Green Bay Packers with a 202-yard, two touchdown performance at Lambeau Field. His performance was just the fifth 200-yard receiving performance in Vikings history, and the third that saw a Vikings receiver have at least 200 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He had the most receiving yards by a Viking since Percy Harvin in 2011. Thielen needed only 40 yards receiving in the Week 17 Chicago Bears game to hit 1,000 yards on the season, and only once in the previous six games had he been held under 50 yards. But he was targeted only once for a 7-yard gain to finish the season with 967 yards, giving the Vikings their first pair of Vikings receivers with 900 yards each since Randy Moss and Cris Carter accomplished that.

After having entered the 2016 season as an underdog, Thielen ended up leading the Vikings with 967 receiving yards, while also adding a career-high 69 catches and five touchdowns. His 10.0 yards per target and 75.0% catch rate were top-5 among NFL wide receivers. Thielen dropped just two passes on 92 targets according to Sporting Charts, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 18th best receiver in the league. For his efforts, NFL.com named Thielen as their "Unsung Hero" for the Minnesota Vikings.

2017 season

On March 15, 2017, Thielen signed a three-year contract extension with the Vikings.