On Monday on the Pat McAfee Show, now Carolina Panthers' wide receiver Adam Thielen said he had conversations with the Denver Broncos. This would have been quite the addition if Denver could have pulled it off.
Thielen was recently cut by the Minnesota Vikings this offseason as they look to retool their roster a bit with a new GM and head coach in town. Cutting ties with the long-time Vikes pass catcher was probably a tough decision for them, but a necessary one.
Adam Thielen was undrafted out of 2014 and truly worked his way onto the roster and up the depth chart in Minnesota.
"I had conversations with the Broncos, Cowboys and a few other teams.. Carolina felt like the best fit and it worked out"@athielen19 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0LbtZKWKJG
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 20, 2023
He broke out in 2016 when he was 26 years old with 69 receptions for 967 yards and five touchdowns. He followed that up with the best stretch of his career in 2017 and 2018, amassing over 1,275 yards in each season en route to two Pro Bowls.
Thielen inked a contract extension with the team but since the 2017 and 2018 seasons, he has not been able to get to that 1,000-yard mark since then.
He has had 726 and 716 receiving yards in the last two seasons, so he's still been able to be effective even though he is in his 30s. Thielen would have been the perfect veteran addition to the Broncos' wide receiver room which has struggled with injuries and inconsistencies on the field.
This also tells me that Denver does genuinely want to add to this position, and if that is still the case, I'd expect Denver to continue to sniff around the WR market. There were also those rumors that Denver was heavily in on Allen Lazard as well, so I think there is a legitimate interest in adding to this group.
Someone like Mecole Hardman or DJ Chark would be nice additions to the room, but either way I'd like to see the team add to this unit before the 2023 NFL Draft.