Adam Thielen is a route-running magician, with sticky hands and speed to turn defensive backs into blackened toast.
The Minnesota Vikings receiver earned his sixth straight 100-plus yard receiving day, with 11 receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's 27-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
The undrafted receiver out of Minnesota State, who walked on to the Vikings tryouts, made the practice squad in 2013, and worked his way up from there, is the best story in the NFL.
Thielen has been and unstoppable force to open the season.
Let's run down a few of his superlatives:
»Leads the NFL with 712 receiving yards. Julio Jones is second with 707.
»Leads NFL with 58 receptions. The next closest player is Eagles tight end Zach Ertz with 48. The next closest receiver is Michael Thomas with 46 (five games).
»100-plus receiving yards in each of the first six games of the season. Only Charley Hennigan has a longer streak of such games to start a season in NFL history (seven straight games with Houston Oilers to start 1961 season).
»Now just two games shy of tying the all-time single-season NFL record for most consecutive games with 100-plus receiving yards (Calvin Johnson in 2012, eight straight games).
»Thielen has the most receptions in his team's first six games of a season in NFL history (58).
»Only two other players had six or more receptions for at least 100 yards in six consecutive games at any point in any season -- Isaac Bruce of the Rams in 1995 (six straight) and Demaryius Thomas of the Broncos in 2014 (seven straight), per ELIAS.
»On pace to finish fifth in NFL history in receiving yards per game (118.7-- minimum 1.875 receptions per team game).
»On pace to set a single-season Vikings franchise record for most rec YPG (118.7).
Stats and facts not enough? What about the opinion of those within his own building?
"I know he doesn't think there's a ball he can't catch, for sure," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "That's how he is in practice every day. He laid out in practice the other day and goes, 'Why did I do that?'
"He comes over and talks to me during games about stuff that's going on and it's always about, 'These guys can't guard me.'"
"When it comes to running routes, that man is nice,'' safety George Iloka said. "He has a crazy route package. All of his routes start out the same, but at the top of the route he has a lot of sauce. That's why he's always open against DBs. He's a great player, a better teammate and a good man."
In-house praise too fluffy for you? How about Sunday's opponent and one of the greatest pass-catchers in NFL history?
"I'm really happy for Adam," Larry Fitzgerald said. "Every single week he continues to raise his level of play. He makes tough plays and consistent plays and does a great job in the running game, and he's been a sparkplug for his team all season. You saw it again today."
And we expect to see it well down the road.
The four-year, $19.24 million contract the Vikings handed the undrafted receiver before last season is one of the best bargains in the entire NFL. The NFL's leading receiver ranks 49th among wideouts in average salary, per Over The Cap.
