Adam Thielen Is a Good Start for Vikings
Despite struggling to get it done before the Minnesota Vikings’ cutdown deadline, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah remained engaged with the Carolina Panthers and swung a trade for veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen. Of course, the reunion is one that fans will celebrate. It’s a big and exciting move, but it should be just the start.
The Minnesota Vikings added Adam Thielen on Wednesday, but the wide receiver position still needs more help at the bottom.
The reality is that the Vikings knew they would be without Jordan Addison for months to start the season. The expectation always should have been that he would be suspended for the first three weeks of the year. That coming to fruition was never a shock.
Do the Vikings Need More at WR Even after Adam Thielen?
Jalen Nailor, heading into Week 1 after having undergone a surgical procedure and having a hand injury, is not something Minnesota could have predicted. Last season, he assumed WR3 duties for the since-departed K.J. Osborn. The results were middling at best, and downright frustrating at worst.
That leads the Vikings to where they are now. Justin Jefferson is locked and loaded as WR1 as well as the best at the position across the entire league. Thielen will join him as starters atop the initial depth chart. It remains to be seen if Nailor is physically ready for Week 1, but even if he is, rolling again with him as the third option seems dicey.
When Addison returns from his suspension, the Vikings will have arguably the best wide receiver room in the game. There’s no reason they can’t add veteran to the group, though, and force Nailor to earn his playing time. The Washington Commanders released Osborn, and veteran Brandon Powell remains unsigned. Hunter Renfrow didn’t make the Carolina Panthers, and has worked as a return man previously.
It’s not as though the Vikings need to go out and get a superstar. They have ample cap space, though, and there’s no reason they can’t raise the water level at the bottom of the room. The more talent Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can surround J.J. McCarthy with, the more likely it is that the young signal caller finds success as he makes his way under center.
The Vikings could run the ball more this season with a pair of strong backs. Kevin O’Connell is always going to want to throw the ball, though, and the more mouths willing to eat, the better the whole unit can run.
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