Vikings First Round Draft Bust Laquon Treadwell ‘Star Of Training Camp’ For Jaguars
The Minnesota Vikings drew high praise in the 2016 NFL Draft, snagging highly-touted Ole Miss wide receiver at #23 overall in the first round of the draft. That didn't exactly pan out.
The Vikings shared DeAndre Hopkins comparisons about Treadwell in their 2016 NFL Draft breakdown, highlighting similarities in talent, ball skills, and consistency of production.
Through his college career, Treadwell racked up over 2,300 yards and 21 touchdowns over three years in Mississippi. The next four years wouldn't be nearly as productive.
Treadwell played 53 games over four seasons with the Vikings, appearing in 16 games in only one of his four years with the team. During that time, he posted 701 yards and 2 touchdowns.
After his underwhelming tenure in Minnesota, Treadwell spent the 2020 season in Atlanta, spending some time with the practice squad and notching 49 yards and 2 touchdowns in 5 games with the Falcons.
Following this one-year term in Atlanta, he was brought in by the Jacksonville Jaguars as one of 4 tryout players during minicamp in June. Treadwell made the cut and has since apparently gone on to do nothing but impress.
The Jaguars are rebuilding their offense with former standout college coach Urban Meyer joining the team as head coach and 2021 top draft pick Trevor Lawrence expected to be the quarterback heading into the new season. The flash Treadwell has shown in camp has fans getting excited about what he could offer to new-look team.
Sports reporter Mia O'Brien tweeted over the weekend that Treadwell has been the star of training camp so far, sharing that he said he hired a mental coach to "help him get to where he wants to be".
It was reported earlier last week by News 4 in Jacksonville that quarterback Gardner Minshew, who took first-team reps on Friday, called Treadwell his "go-to guy". The author of the report for News 4 mused that Treadwell "seems to make plays every day and is constantly open. Outside of a few overthrown balls, I have not seen him drop a single pass".
The official Jaguars Twitter account shared a video Sunday of Trevor Lawrence connecting on a deep pass with Treadwell (who wears #18 now) in what looks like nothing we ever saw during his tenure with the Vikings.
While all of the praise continues to roll in for "Tready" in camp, NFL fans have seen plenty of instances where someone shines in camp, and it doesn't really show up during the regular season. It's hard to deny what Minshew and others have said about Laquon though, so maybe his mental coach and some new scenery lead to the former Vikings first rounder having a coming-out party as the guy he was expected to be 5 years ago.
At the same time, there are a lot of guys on the team he'll have to beat out for a spot. CBS Sports has Treadwell in the mix with a lot of other players competing for a wideout spot behind DJ Chark and Marvin Jones Jr. on the roster. We'll see if he has enough flash to make it through roster cuts and prove it during the regular season.