Vikings’ Adam Thielen Joins Elite Group, on Pace for NFL Record

Adam Thielen

Getty Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen

In case you haven’t heard, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is doing special things this season. Through six games, Thielen now has 58 receptions for 712 yards and four touchdowns. He’s topped the 100-yard mark in all six games and has established himself as one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers.

But Thielen’s first six games have actually been better from a reception standpoint than any wide receiver in NFL history.

Quite a few things stand out from this, but the key is that he’s ahead of Marvin Harrison’s 52 receptions during the 2002 season. That’s the year in which the former Indianapolis Colts receiver broke (and still holds) the NFL record for most receptions in a single season. Harrison finished that season with 143 catches and only two players have come within striking distance of his record.


Can Adam Thielen Break Marvin Harrison’s Record?

In 2015, both Atlanta Falcons wideout Julio Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown were the first players to come within 14 receptions of the record. Jones and Brown each caught 136 passes that year, but Thielen now finds himself on pace to potentially surpass the incredible number.

Based on the average number of receptions for the Vikings wideout to this point, it puts him on pace for over 154 catches in 2018. Obviously, keeping this pace will be exceptionally hard and we even saw New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas cool off a bit after his red-hot start.

Through the first three games of this season, Thomas caught 38 passes, but only totaled eight over the next two games. Of course, the Saints were on a bye this week, so Thomas is just 12 catches behind Thielen’s pace currently. Regardless, what we’ve seen from both Thielen and Thomas this year has been fun to watch, and it seems the Vikings star may at least have a chance at Harrison’s record.

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