Infamous Ex-Vikings WR Always Seems to Land on His Feet
Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, despite never making a large impact on a team’s passing game, always lands on his feet with a team. The 2022 season will be no different.
Treadwell re-upped with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday.
Drafted by the Vikings in the 1st Round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Treadwell has never compiled more than 450 receiving yards in a season — and he’s been a part of six campaigns.
The Vikings have a rich history of drafting and plucking wide receivers from other teams, so when Treadwell was scooped from 2016’s draft class, he was the heir apparent. Under Mike Zimmer, Treadwell was afforded a litany of chances to bust out, yet he flatly did not.
In four years with Minnesota, Treadwell tallied 701 receiving yards and two touchdowns, which was eclipsed by Justin Jefferson in 2020 during a coffee break. Somehow, the Vikings continued to trot Treadwell onto the field, hoping for a change of course. Treadwell did intangible things well — like downfield blocking — but he never ascended to 1st-Round stardom.
That didn’t limit the Ole Miss alumnus for life-after-Vikings, though. The man keeps finding jobs.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”977229″ player=”26279″ title=”WATCH%203%20ideal%20Jimmy%20Garoppolo%20trade%20scenarios%20this%20offseason” duration=”84″ description=”Jimmy Garoppolo led his San Francisco 49ers to a second NFC Championship Game in three seasons. Despite starting 3-5, San Francisco got hot and was looking very much to be Super Bowl bound.That’s when it all came crashing down against the Rams in the title game. Garoppolo struggled big time with San Francisco heading into the fourth quarter up 17-7. Likely his last throw as a member of the 49ers, the Super Bowl quarterback tossed up a prayer — ending up in an intereception.” uploaddate=”2022-03-21″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/977176/977176.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Minnesota allowed Treadwell four cracks at fruition in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons. After that, he trekked to the Atlanta Falcons for a season, tabulating 49 yards in five games. Done deal, career over, right? Nope.
With Trevor Lawrence strutting to Jacksonville, the Jaguars signed Treadwell for 2021, and he accumulated 434 yards on 51 targets and a 71.9 grade from Pro Football Focus. And that was good enough for a Florida sequel as the 26-year-old re-signed with Doug Pederson’s Jaguars on Monday.
By all accounts, Treadwell is an upstanding person. Vikings fans hold this memory — among only a few — of what could have been:
In theory, Treadwell could truly break out into stardom “one of these seasons” with a developing Lawrence at the helm, but inklings of such behavior are typically visible before Year 7.
The financial terms of Treadwell’s extension were not available.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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