While there is no Minnesota Vikings fan alive who truly wants to see starting wide receiver Adam Thielen miss any game, the fact that his offensive teammates are ready to compensate for his absence is not only encouraging, it’s enlightening.

After his toe-tapping touchdown catch in the back of the Detroit Lions’ end zone made the score of Sunday’s game 7-7 in the first quarter, Vikings’ receiver Adam Thielen exited the game with a hamstring strain.

In what appeared to be a major problem for the Vikings’ offense, Minnesota brought rookie wide receiver Olabisi Johnson off the bench to replace Thielen.

Suddenly, it seemed that in a decisive NFC North contest, the Lions had an advantage. They were now able to concentrate on only one dangerous veteran receiver working alongside their superlative running game.

Kirk Cousins finds rookie tight end Irv Smith Jr. for a 28-yard first quarter gain.

But a funny thing happened on the way along that stratagem. The other pass catchers on the Vikings’ team stepped in, stepped up, and had their best days.

Three Muskateers

The first was tight end Kyle Rudolph, who’s five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown came close to equaling the totals of his other six games in 2019.

Behind him was his rookie sidekick, Irv Smith Jr, who’s five catches for 60 yards showed that the kid from Alabama won’t be a sidekick for long.

Smith Jr. is clearly still learning the NFL game, but he has already proven to be a better athlete than veteran teammate Rudolph, and should become more and more prominent as one of the players that Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins targets in the future.

The last Viking that “came out” after Thielen’s departure from the Detroit game was his actual position stand-in, Bisi Johnson.

Vikings’ rookie WR Bisi Johnson finds a hole in the Detroit zome for a big third quarter gain.

Johnson has already showed that he is not only better prepared to play in the NFL than his predecessor Laquon Treadwell, he already shows signs of being the type of number three receiver that Treadwell was drafted in the first round to become.

With four catches for 40 yards and a touchdown, Johnson showed hands, separation, and deft execution of his pass patterns across the field.