Why Panthers made huge mistake trading Adam Thielen to Vikings

Adam Thielen has been traded by the Carolina Panthers to the Minnesota Vikings.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen runs after a catch against the Atlanta Falcons | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are shaking up their wide receiver room by trading Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings.

While the Panthers are getting a fifth-round pick in 2026 and a fourth-round pick in 2027, the team could look back on this trade with regret.

The Panthers had a top-heavy wide receiver room with Thielen, 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette and 2025 first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan. However, Thielen might have been the best receiver in the bunch, even at 35 years old.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen is congratulated by tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Sure, the Panthers benefit from getting some value out of Thielen, who is due to hit free agency at the end of the season. However, there's no guarantee the Panthers offense will be just fine without him.

Carolina's offense flipped a switch towards the end of last season and it correlated with Thielen's return to the lineup. Thielen had 506 receiving yards in the final seven games of the 2024 campaign for the Panthers, posting some of the best numbers on the team in that stretch.

The hope is that those targets will go to McMillan, but the Panthers would have been better with the pair of them on the field instead of just one.

McMillan, Legette and Jalen Coker all benefit from Thielen's absence because they will get more looks in the offense, but the Panthers unit as a whole suffers from losing him.

Quarterback Bryce Young had veteran receivers in training camp in Thielen and Hunter Renfrow, but now he will have to rely on the younger Panthers pass-catchers to make plays for him.

This isn't to say that McMillan, Legette and Coker aren't ready for more action, but the Panthers don't have much of a leg to stand on if they're not.

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