The Carolina Panthers traded veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings, opening up an opportunity for Jalen Coker to establish himself as a key part of this offense. A former undrafted free agent, the Holy Cross product finished his rookie season with 32 receptions for 478 yards and two touchdowns, and now has the chance to carry real fantasy football relevance. The only question is whether or not he’s up for the task.
Jalen Coker burst onto the scene in a major way to close last season. Former UDFA out of Holy Cross and the #Panthers love him. Young WR has a chance to be a very good player in this league.
With Adam Thielen traded, expect Coker to have a major role with Bryce Young. https://t.co/y32R7XWs9T pic.twitter.com/kpgW511z9F
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 27, 2025
Jalen Coker Fantasy Football Outlook After Adam Thielen Trade
2024 Recap
At first glance, 32 receptions for 478 yards and two touchdowns isn’t much to write home about. However, Coker was an undrafted free agent and, unlike players with higher draft capital, had to climb the depth chart to earn playing time. While the overall numbers aren’t impressive, his rate stats paint a prettier picture.
According to Pro Football Focus, Coker finished the 2024 season with a 72.8 grade, the 43rd-best mark out of 133 eligible players. By comparison, only Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas, Jordan Whittington, and Marvin Harrison Jr. Coker’s yards per route run place him in a similar category, as his 1.81 ranked 48th out of all eligible receivers.
Basically, Jalen Coker was a slightly above-average wide receiver as an undrafted rookie despite playing in a messy quarterback room. Bryce Young put it all together down the stretch, and Coker played a large role in his development. Over the final four games of the season, Coker recorded 15 receptions for 215 yards and one touchdown. When extrapolated to a 17-game sample, he was on pace for 64 receptions for 914 yards and four touchdowns.
2025 Projections
Even if Adam Thielen was still around, Jalen Coker would’ve earned a decent share of targets in 2025 and likely would have carried some fantasy football relevance. However, with the veteran departed, Coker should be rostered in all dynasty formats and is a decent late-round pick in redraft.
First-round pick Tetairoa McMillan will be the top option in this passing attack and will command the lion’s share of the targets. However, McMillan and Coker play two dramatically different roles on the offense, and both players can thrive without affecting the other’s targets.
According to PlayerProfiler, Coker played in the slot 54.8% of the time with a 14.5% target share, while Thielen had a 72.8% slot rate and a 20.2% target share. Jalen Coker should inherit the slot receiver role, which will carry plenty of value for fantasy football. With Thielen out of the picture, Coker should finish the year with a 20-22% target share, with most of his targets coming in the short and intermediate part of the field.
Chances are, this means he probably won’t be anything more than a flex play or bye week streamer. This may not sound too exciting, but finding reliable depth players to fill out your roster can be the difference between winning and losing a week in deeper leagues. Coker could easily develop into a Jakobi Meyers-esque player, and while someone like that never sets the world on fire, they’re always good to have on your roster.
Main Photo: Bob Donnan – Imagn Images
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