Laquon Treadwell must earn the nickname Megaquon

Laquon Treadwell has been hung with a nickname that pays homage to retired NFL great Calvin Johnson.

So we’ve all decided as a fanbase that we’re fine with the nickname “Megaquon” for Laquon Treadwell?

It’s a cool-sounding name that plays cleverly off Laquon’s real first name, I get that, but is anyone else a little bothered by the baggage that comes with the moniker?

The name Megaquon is of course in part an homage to Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, a receiver so physically imposing and statistically dominating it seemed natural to call him by a nickname derived from a toy line and movie series featuring gigantic robots that transform into cars.

Calvin was big and he was fast and he was seemingly indestructible. So yes, “Megatron” seemed perfectly apt.

Down the road, will Laquon earn “Megaquon” in the same way Johnson earned his nickname? What would Treadwell need to do in order to truly own that moniker?

First of all, Treadwell would have to demonstrate a skill-set similar to Johnson’s if not directly comparable. Already, Treadwell seems to fall short in that he’s neither as big as Johnson nor as fast.

Maybe “Juniortron” would be more appropriate?

Even if Treadwell shows he has the physical tools necessary to be a good NFL player, he would still have a long way to go to deserve comparisons to Johnson. Megatron didn’t just have the tools, he also had the mental discipline, the consistency and the toughness to put his body on the line week-after-week and produce huge numbers for his team.

Because Johnson was big and strong, defenses went after him extra-hard, trying to knock his head off. It takes a special kind of dude to absorb that much punishment and still go out and excel. I mean, look what happened to the guy’s finger. And he still played hard and was still great.

If Laquon Treadwell can endure massive amounts of pain Sunday-after-Sunday and still play NFL football at a high level for the better part of a decade, I’ll start to think he’s earned a nickname that evokes the dominance of Megatron.

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Johnson’s list of accomplishments? How about the all-time record for most receiving yards in a season? How about three first-team All-Pro selections? How about top-25 in career touchdown receptions?

Treadwell’s list of NFL accomplishments so far? Saying his head coach’s name wrong and wearing an enemy team’s hat on Snapchat. Nothing much “mega” about that.

To me, it seems a tad irreverent to refer to a green rookie by a nickname that evokes the accomplishments of a potential Hall of Fame receiver. If Megaquon struggles, that nickname could become ironic real quick.