6 worst Minnesota Vikings first-round picks of the last decade

Laquon Treadwell – WR (2016)

Many Vikings fans were thrilled when the team was able to land this guy with the 23rd pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Minnesota needed help at wide receiver and this big, physical pass-catcher from Ole Miss seemed to be a great fit.

A couple of things happened that hurt Laquon Treadwell‘s career with the Vikings. When he joined the team, it was right when Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen began to come into their own.

With these two emerging stars on the roster, it pushed Treadwell down the depth chart. This decreased his reps in practice and his snaps and targets in games. He probably didn’t get to develop the way he would have if he was the top dog and getting first-team reps.

Another issue was that Treadwell couldn’t catch the football. When he did get on the field and see balls coming his way, they would often bounce right off his hands. He became well known for the drops and it plagued his career with Minnesota.

Treadwell was never able to climb the Vikings receiving depth chart, but he did prove to be a valuable blocker in the running game.

Minnesota released him before the start of last season, but they ended up bringing him back thanks to their receiving corps suffering so many injuries. Treadwell was recently signed by the Atlanta Falcons this offseason and maybe a change of scenery will do the former first-rounder some good.

Treadwell has to be considered one of the Vikings’ biggest first-round busts of the last decade as his career production is embarrassingly low. He finished his tenure in Minnesota with 65 receptions, 701 yards, and two touchdowns. It was a horrible return on a first-round investment.