5 Wide Receivers Who Drastically Outperformed Their Teammates in 2016
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
If you owned Stefon Diggs in season-long this year, you probably noticed Adam Thielen just wouldn't go away. There's a reason for that, and it likely means he shouldn't evaporate when 2017 rolls around, either.
There were three wideouts on the Minnesota Vikings who had at least 70 targets, adding Cordarrelle Patterson into the fold. Here are the NEP splits of those three guys, and Thielen's the one who stands out.
| Wide Receiver | Targets | Target NEP | Target NEP per Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stefon Diggs | 112 | 55.67 | 0.50 |
| Adam Thielen | 92 | 56.78 | 0.62 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | 70 | 12.85 | 0.18 |
The split here between Diggs and Thielen isn't as big as that which we saw for other wide receivers in this piece, but it is still significant when we're trying to look forward to 2017.
It would probably be unfair to assume Diggs simply resumes his early-season role as a target monster. He had 28.21% of the team's targets the first nine games he played, and that's a mark generally reserved for a team's clear-cut top target. With how Thielen performed in 2016, it seems as if there should be a more even split between the two, potentially limiting Diggs' upside.
It would also be unfair to write Thielen off as a one-year wonder. He backed his volume up with productivity during a season in which the Minnesota offense was swimming in injuries. He's likely going to be a factor in this offense in 2017, and we'd be wrong to ignore what he brought to the offense when he got opportunities.
