6 first-round mistakes that continue to haunt the Vikings

First-Round Mistake No. 3

The Vikings selected Laquon Treadwell in 2016

Everyone seemingly understood that the Vikings were going to take a wide receiver with their first selection in 2016. At the time, the class was believed to be full of talent at the position and several teams were in need of playmakers on offense.

The Vikings grabbed Laquon Treadwell with the idea of pairing him with Stefon Diggs to be one of the more explosive tandems in the NFL. With Adam Thielen emerging as a star in his own right, the Vikings seemed to be cooking.

However, Treadwell never found a consistent role in the offense and struggled to produce in Minnesota. His tenure with the team was quite short, as they found success with the other two receivers.

If they had believed that Thielen would be the player he developed into, perhaps the Vikings wouldn't have taken a wide receiver so high in the draft. Instead, they could have shifted focus to the defensive line.

Defensive tackles Chris Jones and Kenny Clark were both selected shortly after the Treadwell pick, and they could have been game-changers for the Vikings for a long time. Instead, the Vikings have lacked production in the middle of the defense for a few years now and continue to search for answers in the trenches.