The NFL's 10 Best Deep-Ball Wide Receivers in 2016

2. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

Deep Targets: 25 | Target NEP per Target: 1.58 | Success Rate: 68.00%

Early in the season, it seemed as if Stefon Diggs was the only positive in the Minnesota Vikings' passing game. As the season wore along, though, and Diggs' injuries piled up, Adam Thielen emerged as a legitimate threat. That's not going to change any time soon.

Thielen was the team's best and most popular deep threat, accounting for 31.25% of the team's long targets while also posting the highest per-target efficiency. This helped make Sam Bradford the league's fourth-most efficient passer on deep balls despite the offense's quick-release gameplan.

What's most impressive about Thielen's metrics is his 68.00% Success Rate. No other player with at least 20 targets topped that as Thielen caught 17 of the 25 balls thrown his way. The rest of the Vikings combined to catch just 38.18% of their deep targets, and the league average was 41.25%. It helped give the Vikings' offense life, and it could help line Thielen's pockets this year.

Thielen is a restricted free agent, meaning he could be up for bidding in the form of offer sheets, or the Vikings could sign him to a longer-term deal. Either way, he's going to get a hefty raise from the $600,000 he made in 2016, and he earned it with metrics like these.