Laquon Treadwell needs to start impressing the coaches
Laquon Treadwell was the Vikings’ first-round draft pick (23rd overall) in the 2016 draft. He has yet to fulfill the expectations placed on him by the coaches and the fans. In two seasons, he has 21 catches for 215 yards and no touchdowns (in 25 games played). Nothing near what a first-rounder who had a stellar college career should have.
Head coach Mike Zimmer, never one to mince words, spoke the brutal truth about Treadwell:
“Laquon needs to get out of his own way. He’s a guy that works extremely hard, probably doesn’t do things the right way all the time. We’ll be in training camp and he’ll run the stadium steps at night, which is not helping for practice the next day. But he thinks he’s trying to get better; he’s trying to get better. He’s just going about it the wrong way.”
In college, Treadwell took advantage of less physically gifted defenders to rack up records. In the NFL, however, everyone is a good athlete, and his lack of technique is killing him. He needs to stop depending solely on his physical tools and learn the game of football.
His attempt to impress the coaches in the first game did not go too well. Cousins had high praise for him during camp, but in the opening preseason game, he had just one catch for three yards. He did that despite being in on 41 snaps. Again, he was very underwhelming.
Treadwell is at a crossroads. If he continues to disappoint he’ll find himself unemployed. He needs to pick things up very quickly.
Next: No. 2
