Adam

Thielen

Thielen made multiple acrobatic catches against the Buccaneers, including a heads-up play in the end zone that was somehow ruled an incompletion on review. Thielen’s route running and hands were extremely sharp all day. He looks like a player reborn, locked in with his ascending QB. Thielen is a WR2/3 with upside against the Eagles in Week 14.

Thielen, making his first appearance since Week 4, had a couple critical receptions in the second half and seemed to be Bryce Young’s go-to guy in high leverage situations. Thielen, however, was well behind David Moore, who led Carolina with ten targets on the day. Thielen, who nearly came down with a two point conversion, could be further ramped up in Week 13 against a Bucs defense allowing the league’s highest success rate.

Thielen was activated from injured reserve two weeks ago but didn’t suit up for his first potential game off IR. He was limited in all three practices this week before being listed as questionable. Closing out another lost season, the Panthers don’t have any reason to rush Thielen back, so we’ll assume he’s at full strength and not on a pitch count if active. He should pace the Panthers in targets this week, though that isn’t a particularly valuable role with Bryce Young under center. Thielen is a WR4 at best in his first game since Week 3.

Thielen has been limited in practice all week as he continues to work his way back to the field. The team activated him from injured reserve last week, leading us to believe his return is close. With rookie Jalen Coker (quad) being added to Friday’s injury report, there’s a chance Thielen could see a decent day of work on Sunday against the Chiefs if Coker is unable to play.

Thielen is unlikely to command a WR2-worthy target share if he is active this weekend but his presence would negatively impact both Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, who could be relegated to two-wide receiver sets if Dave Canales views Coker as a slot-only player. Fantasy managers rostering all three players should continue monitoring Thielen’s Week 12 status closely.

The Panthers activated Thielen from injured reserve last week. However, he told reporters today that he was still unsure if he will be able to suit up on Sunday. The Panthers previously activated Jonathon Brooks from injured reserve only to make him inactive once again, so Thielen missing Week 12 wouldn’t be unprecedented. His eventual return will make an already low-volume receiving room impossible to predict.

When it’s all said and done, Thielen will have missed nine weeks with his hamstring injury. He was activated off IR last Tuesday. Thielen should fit into the three-wide sets with Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette down the stretch. It’s impossible to have any faith in him as a fantasy option until we see some results, but he might cut into targets for Legette and Coker.

Thielen is finally coming off IR after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. If he gets a full complement of routes in Week 11, Thielen could function as Carolina’s No. 1 receiver. He had 12 targets through three games before going down with the hamstring injury, and not much target competition in the Panthers offense. Thielen should be added in 14-team leagues.

Things haven’t been great for Thielen as of late. He was limited in the team’s first two practices heading into Week 9 but was a DNP on Friday and ultimately ruled out. Thielen has not practiced ahead of the Panthers’ Week 10 game against the Giants and only has a few days left for the team to activate him from IR before ruling him out for the season. We’ll see where things go in the coming days, but things aren’t looking good for the 34-year-old vet. In addition to Thielen, the Panthers also ruled out OT Ikem Ekwonu (ankle).

Thielen is trending toward missing another game after missing his second practice of the week. The veteran receiver is attempting to return from a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 3 and is nearing the end of his 21-day return window. The Panthers don’t have to activate him for Week 10, but would need to activate him next week at the latest or shut him down for the season.