After a chaotic 2022 season in which they won just seven games, the Carolina Panthers have assembled what looks like a competitive squad for the 2023 campaign.
They drafted University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick, and they added playmakers in wide receiver DJ Chark and Pro Bowl running back Miles Sanders.
Another playmaker who has made his way to Carolina is wideout Adam Thielen, who spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Thielen was honest about his departure from Minnesota, saying the team apparently “had a different vision” as far as his role on the team and his usage.
Panthers WR Adam Thielen on Vikings exit: It was “pretty clear that they had a different vision for me”https://t.co/8lTNX8sbKs pic.twitter.com/PyUDirYgJc
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 8, 2023
Thielen has been an inspiring success story, as he went undrafted in 2014 and posted less than 150 receiving yards apiece in his first two seasons.
But he blossomed in 2016 in his third season in the league.
He became a starter when Stefon Diggs, who was then a Viking, got injured, and he put up 967 yards and five touchdowns that season.
In each of the following two seasons, Thielen surpassed 1,250 yards and was named to the Pro Bowl.
Over the last couple of years, however, he has seen his production dip with the emergence of Justin Jefferson as a major force and an All-Pro receiver.
Thielen will now presumably be a WR1 for the Panthers while helping Young get acclimated to the pro game and build confidence.
Even though he will be 33 years of age when the new season starts, he appears to have plenty of game left in his tank.
