Not everything has been a hot mess for the 0-5 Carolina Panthers. In fact, they may have themselves one of the cooler stories to this point of the 2023 season.
The subject of that tale is 33-year-old wideout Adam Thielen, who may have discovered the Fountain of Youth in his 10th NFL campaign. Thielen, in an otherwise mangled offense, has pieced together some of the most impressive numbers at his position.
Buy Panthers TicketsThrough five games, he’s reeled in 38 receptions for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Those 38 receptions currently account for the fourth-most in the league while the yardage ranks at very respectable 11th.
He’s also found his way onto the leaderboards for a few more juicy stats. Thielen has collected the seventh-highest amount of first-down catches (25), the eighth-most targets (46) and is tied—along with a bunch of others—for the league-lead in drops (0).
All of that work, perhaps predictably, even has the film buffs in awe. Pro Football Focus has given Thielen a top-two offensive grade for the Panthers in four of the team’s five games. His 81.3 overall grade is, obviously, the best on the squad through Week 5.
Oh, and if you’re into the bigger picture—the two-time Pro Bowler is headed for one of his best years yet. He is on pace to finish with 1,340 receiving yards, which would rank as the second-highest mark of his career.
Ye Old Faithful is not done yet, folks.
