Vikings First-Year Pro Bowl WR Thielen Excited to be in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL – For any player in the NFL, it’s about making the most of your opportunities. For an undrafted free agent wide receiver on a team stacked at depth at the position, there couldn’t be more truth to that sentiment.

That is exactly what Minnesota Vikings first-year Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen has been up against in his NFL career and he has flourished since he earned more playing time towards the end of the 2016 season. After all, the Vikings invested three draft picks in wide receivers that year, including their first round pick on the highly-touted prospect Laquon Treadwell and a late round flier on the Scouting Combine phenom Moritz Boehringer.

This year, the undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State broke out for 91 catches and 1,276 yards, which was good for fifth best at the position this year. Thielen, who had four 100-yard games on the season, added four touchdowns and was heavily targeted in the passing game after journeyman quarterback Case Keenum took over as the starter.

Thielen’s breakout campaign this year did not surprise him, however.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” he explained, speaking after a Thursday morning practice at the Pro Bowl in Orlando, FL. “For me, it’s all about taking advantage of opportunities and I think I did that for the most part. That’s why I’m so excited to get back to work because I think there were a lot of plays that I left out there individually.”

A week ago today, the Vikings were poised to play in the Super Bowl before falling flat against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, but that did not discourage the fourth-year wide receiver from speaking highly of his teammates and the season.

“It was a fun year,” Thielen said. “We had a great group of guys who kept fighting, no matter what the situation was. I think we just need to get this team back together and get a few more pieces in here to help us (compete for the Super Bowl) next year.”

For now, he’s having fun in Orlando and calls the experience ‘unbelievable.’

“The coolest thing about this experience is being around a bunch of guys that just love to play football and are extremely talented, hard workers,” Thielen added.

He spoke humbly of his success this year and is eager to continue his success next year as he prepares in the offseason.

“I just want to make sure I’m becoming the best all-around football player to help this team,” he explained. “That’s all I can do right now is worry about myself and get my body as healthy as possible going into OTAs this year.”

Expect Thielen to be in the mix of the top receivers again next season as the Vikings figure to be in the mix of Super Bowl contenders again.