But after a breakout season in 2016, Matthew Coller of 1500ESPN.com said that should be the benchmark for Thielen going forward.
In other words, Coller wrote, Thielen’s big year wasn’t a fluke.
With any out-of-nowhere success story, there will be questions about whether Mr. Disney Movie can keep it up once the league adjusts. See: Jeremy Lin or Tim Tebow or Shane Spencer. In this case, the Vikings have nothing to worry about.
Thielen’s success didn’t come from a small sample size hot streak. It came from repeatable skills like, size/speed, hands, route running and ball-tracking.