Fantasy Football: 5 Wide Receivers Who Drastically Outperformed Their 2016 Preseason Rankings

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

Adam Thielen seems like he should be playing for the New England Patriots because he fits the mold of a Bill Belichick wide receiver: not flashy or tremendously athletic, but workmanlike and efficient.

But who could have seen this coming?

Thielen went undrafted and started his Minnesota Vikings career on the practice squad. After a 2015 season in which he caught 12 passes for 144 yards and no touchdowns for an offense that ranked 31st in passing, the only preseason rankings he made was ESPN's top 300. He was 295th.

To complicate things, the Vikings lost quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a dislocated knee and torn ACL in August that could threaten his career. So, they traded for Sam Bradford a week before the regular season to fill the void.

For some reason, Bradford and Thielen found a connection that worked.

He finished with a team-high 967 yards on 69 catches and 5 touchdowns, and had more yards and scores than Stefon Diggs, whom the team had high hopes of becoming an elite wideout. Diggs, though, missed three games with a knee injury and only showed mild improvement from a promising rookie season.

Thielen shared a backup spot with Cordarrelle Patterson on the preseason depth chart, but Patterson didn't come close to Thielen's numbers, catching 52 passes for 453 yards and 2 scores.

Thielen finished tied for 28th among wide receivers in both standard and PPR leagues. Overall, he was tied for 70th in PPR leagues and tied for 108th in standard leagues.