Kyle Rudolph
StaTuesday: Vikings' 1,000-yard receiver drought
Kyle Rudolph

StaTuesday: Vikings' 1,000-yard receiver drought

Published Jan. 3, 2017 4:10 p.m. ET

In Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, the Minnesota Vikings had two players top 900 yards receiving in 2016.

But the 1,000-yard plateau remains elusive.

The Vikings are the only team since 2010 to not have a 1,000-yard receiver. Seattle joined the club in 2015 thanks to Doug Baldwin (who did it again this year) and the Rams got on the board in 2016 as Kenny Britt just passed the barrier with 1,002 yards.

Not that Minnesota didn't come close. Thielen's 967 yards were the most for a Minnesota receiver since Percy Harvin had the same total in 2011.












































PLAYER YEAR YARDS
Percy Harvin 2010 868
Percy Harvin 2011 967
Percy Harvin 2012 677
Greg Jennings 2013 804
Greg Jennings 2014 742
Stefon Diggs 2015 720
Adam Thielen 2016 967



After having Cris Carter and Randy Moss for so many years rack up the receiving yards, Minnesota is now its longest drought without a 1,000-yard receiver since the franchise began and went 12 years until it had its first.

The last Vikings player with a 1,000-yard receiving season? Sidney Rice in 2009.

If Thielen hadn't gotten hurt in Indianapolis or Diggs didn't miss a couple of games, either one or both of them could have well joined the 1,000-yard season club. As it stands, it has been accomplished 28 times but just 10 players have reached that milestone in Vikings history.





















































































































































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PLAYER YEAR YARDS
John Gilliam 1972 1,035
Ahmad Rashad 1979 1,156
Ahmad Rashad 1980 1,095
Joe Senser 1981 1,004
Sammy White 1981 1,001
Anthony Carter 1988 1,225
Anthony Carter 1989 1,066
Anthony Carter 1990 1,008
Cris Carter 1993 1,071
Cris Carter 1994 1,256
Jake Reed 1994 1,175
Cris Carter 1995 1,371
Jake Reed 1995 1,167
Cris Carter 1996 1,163
Jake Reed 1996 1,320
Cris Carter 1997 1,069
Jake Reed 1997 1,138
Cris Carter 1998 1,011
Randy Moss 1998 1,313
Cris Carter 1999 1,241
Randy Moss 1999 1,413
Cris Carter 2000 1,274
Randy Moss 2000 1,437
Randy Moss 2001 1,233
Randy Moss 2002 1,347
Randy Moss 2003 1,632
Nate Burleson 2004 1,006
Sidney Rice 2009 1,312



On a side note, got tight end Kyle Rudolph a lot more involved in the offense, giving Minnesota three receivers with 800+ yards.

Rudolph finished with career highs of 83 receptions, 840 yards and seven touchdowns. His previous career high for receiving yards was 495 set last season.

Rudolph became just the third tight end in Vikings history to amass 800 yards. It had been a while since Minnesota had seen that kind of production from a tight end.
























PLAYER YEAR YARDS
Joe Senser 1981 1,004
Steve Jordan 1986 859
Kyle Rudolph 2016 840



Statistics courtesy pro-football-reference.com

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