Nov 10, 2019; Arlington, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings receiver Laquon Treadwell (11) smiles prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports.
The two most famous draft busts in the Rick Spielman era were Christian Ponder and Laquon Treadwell. Ponder had a strong Senior Bowl week, and it helped his draft stock. Minnesota needed a new franchise quarterback, so they reached for the best one on their board in a bad class. The 12th overall pick never lived up to expectations and played in only 38 games in his career, all with the Vikings, and recorded a 38-36 touchdown to interception ratio.
Treadwell was a similar case. The Vikings needed some receiving help for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in 2016. The former 23rd overall pick will sign with the fifth team in his career on Tuesday.
Tom Pelissero tweeted on Monday afternoon: “The Ravens are adding another receiver: They’ve agreed to terms with onetime Vikings first-round pick Laquon Treadwell on a one-year deal, his agent Michael Portner said.”
Coming out of Ole Miss, Treadwell ended up as the 23rd-overall pick, the fourth receiver taken. Like Treadwell, the others didn’t succeed much in their careers. Corey Coleman and Josh Doctson are afterthoughts, while Will Fuller had some decent seasons but hasn’t played a game since 2021.
Last year, Treadwell was on four different teams. He was a part of the Patriots and Cardinals practice squads for a few weeks after the Jaguars released him before the season began. He eventually ended up with the Seattle Seahawks, where he had six receptions for 42 yards.
Treadwell’s top campaign came the year before, in 2021. He played under head coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville and caught 33 passes for a career-high 434 yards and 1 touchdown.
Throughout his career, the receiver has played in 76 games and caught 110 passes for 1,226 yards and 5 touchdowns. In the four years with the Vikings, Treadwell played 53 games, including 16 starts. That resulted in 65 catches for 701 yards and 2 scores. Of course, the team expected much more from their first-rounder.
Adam Thielen had his breakout season during Treadwell’s rookie campaign, and Stefon Diggs continued his rise to stardom. The circumstances weren’t good for the young receiver during his time in Minnesota as he was buried on the depth chart. He never lived up to his pre-draft hype and deserves the word bust more than any other player in the last decade in the Vikings universe.
He’ll turn 28 next week and tries to get another shot to kickstart his career in Lamar Jackson’s offense. The veteran will have to fight an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster.
The wideout group in Baltimore features Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman, rookie Zay Flowers, and Nelson Agholor. All four and Treadwell were picked in the first round of their drafts. Flowers was picked right ahead of Vikings receiver Jordan Addison, therefore, they will be compared with each other for years.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt