After a forgettable rookie year, Laquon Treadwell still has an opportunity to become a top three wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Laquon Treadwell hopefully forgot about how little he contributed in 2016.
Despite only having one catch last season, the Vikings need him to show everyone why the team took him with a first-round draft pick. After a couple departures to free agency, the receiving core depth has dwindled.
Treadwell is a strong receiver who has the natural talent to be great. On the contrary, his biggest knock from his rookie season was his route-running ability.
In addition to that he struggled to get off against press-coverage. He will work hard to fix those issues and take advantage of this opportunity.
His non-impressive stats from the season were as followed.
- Games played: 9
- Games started: 1
- Targets: 3
- Receptions: 1
- Receiving yards: 15
- Touchdowns: 0
Charles Johnson was the first wide receiver to leave the team during free agency. Johnson did not have a good year for the Vikings last season.
Treadwell will easily be able to surpass his numbers with any type of effort at all. Johnson ended the season with the following stats.
Minnesota Vikings
- Games played: 16
- Games started: 7
- Targets: 37
- Receptions: 20
- Receiving yards: 232
- Touchdowns: 0
The other departing receiver was Cordarrelle Patterson who signed with the Oakland Raiders. In order to replace the 2016 production of Patterson, Treadwell must have to improve on his weaknesses mentioned earlier.
Below are Patterson’s 2016 stats.
- Games played: 16
- Games started: 8
- Targets: 70
- Receptions: 52
- Receiving yards: 453
- Touchdowns: 2
Treadwell will also compete with Jarius Wright for an increased role. Wright played in one less game than Treadwell last season but racked in 14 total receptions on the year. In addition to production, Wright has the advantage because he has had productive seasons previously with the Vikings.
Treadwell showed some flashes in during preseason last year. He made some catches that were indicative of his big play ability.
In the video below you can see him catch an end zone back-shoulder dart from Shaun Hill.
If Treadwell can make catches like that on a consistent basis, he has the potential to have at least 500 yards and four touchdowns next season.
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After the loss of Patterson and Johnson, the Vikings need him to do just that. Therefore, Treadwell must have a good offseason that helps him develop into a solid NFL receiver.