2024 Pre-Season Rank #100, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #113, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #116, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #124, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #137. Peak Period: 2016-18/2020-21
If there were ever a WR2 Hall of Fame, would Adam Thielen make the first ballot?
Of course, there isn’t one, but we are impressed by how Thielen keeps chugging along. His last Pro Bowl was in 2018, a year that he had over 100 Receptions (113) and 1,000 Yards (1,373). He never had a three-digit Reception/four-digit Receiving Yards year again until 2023 (103 Rec/1,014 Yards) last year in his first season in Carolina, where he was one of the few weapons they had.
Even though he is in his mid-30s the Minnesota Vikings believe that Thielen can help, as they traded for him in the pre-season, reuniting him with the team where he had 55 Touchdowns. The PFHOF won’t call him (though he will be a longtime preliminary candidate), but a post-career accolade in Minnesota? Definitely.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #43, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #95. Peak Period: 2018-22
Davante Adams was Aaron Rodgers' favorite weapon in Green Bay, and last year, Adams and Rodgers were reunited with the New York Jets. In a combined season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams collected 1,063 Yards, which, while low for him, was his fifth straight 1,000-yard year and sixth overall.
Adams has already proved he doesn’t need Rodgers (his first year in Vegas saw him lead the NFL in Touchdown Receptions (14), and he did have three consecutive First Team All-Pros, which not many Wide Receivers can claim.
Joining the Los Angeles Rams this year, Adams will be the second option behind Puca Nacua, but he can still compile significant yardage. Going into 2025, Adams is 33rd all-time in Yards, and just 1,000 Yards (providing that Mike Evans does not accrue 181 Yards this year, will vault him ten spots. He has also been a top-endzone threat, punching it through 103 times, placing him 23rd. His Hall of Fame bar looks to be 14,000 Yards and 120 TDs, and if healthy, he should get there.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #71, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #81, 2021 Pre-Season #78, Rank 2020 Pre-Season Rank #84. Peak Period: 2019-23
Splitting his 2024 Season with Cleveland and Buffalo, Amari Cooper compiled 547 Yards that pushed him just over the 10,000 plateau, but this was half of his production from his 2023 season, where he was a Pro Bowl for the fifth time.
At 31, Cooper resigned with the team that drafted him, the Las Vegas Raiders. However, if there is any Hall of Fame traction to be had, he must replicate his 2023 performance and sustain that level of excellence for years to come. That might be a tough ask.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #45, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #82. Peak Period: 2017-21
After 11 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen signed with the Chicago Bears for a year before signing back with the Bolts this year.
In his first run in Los Angeles, he compiled over 10,000 Yards and six Pro Bowls, but it is safe to say he won’t do that in his return to SoFi. Allen has to take on the role of compiler, and with the logjam at Wide Receiver, it will take a lot, especially for a player who has never been an All-Pro. That being said, an honor from the Chargers seems likely for the popular Wide Receiver eventually.