The Minnesota Vikings have one of the NFL's best wide receiver duos.
Adam Thielen finished last season with 91 catches for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns, while Stefon Diggs had 64 catches for 849 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing two games due to injury. They were one of just seven wide receiver pairs that each recorded at least 60 catches last season, and one of just three that saw both players also go over 800 receiving yards.
In 2018, they'll have a new quarterback. Sam Bradford is in Arizona. Case Keenum is in Denver. And Kirk Cousins is now the guy throwing the ball to Thielen and Diggs. To get ready for the season, the duo traveled down to Atlanta to work out with Cousins prior to organized team activities.
"It was awesome," Thielen said, per the Star Tribune. "I think the biggest part of that was to get to know him on a personal level and just try to get that first initiation of how he likes guys to run routes and what he feels comfortable doing, and then just try to get on the same page. I think it was a really good start for Diggs and I to get a jumpstart on that."
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Cousins obviously has different strengths and weaknesses than Keenum, and Thielen said they're already learning about what those are.
"I think everybody individually does things a little differently," Thielen said. "As a quarterback, every quarterback has their strengths and their weaknesses. I think the thing he really brings to the table is the way that he leads, and his passion for the game of football. It has been really fun working with him and learning this offense together. As a receiver group, we're really excited to keep getting some reps with him, and especially in some live situations. It has been a while since we've gone against a live defense so we're excited to do that."
The Vikings should be one of the NFC's top Super Bowl contenders in 2018, with the Cousins-led offense complementing one of the NFL's best defenses. If Cousins can take the offense to another level, the Vikes might be able to advance a round further than they did a year ago, when they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in the NFC title game.
