Zimmer’s Ultimatum: Time for Treadwell to Step Up
During the 2018 scouting combine, Mike Zimmer and Rick Speilman addressed the media and made several appearances with Paul Allen and Paul Charchian on KFAN. These conversations are always enjoyable to listen to. There’s also a possibility that you may be able to decipher or interpret some information about the team from the two individuals who are steering the ship of this Vikings team. I have always found Zimmer’s press conferences to be incredibly entertaining and always find it amusing when certain reporters ask Zimmer questions looking for a particular response in which he’ll answer with an angry face or facetious joke. In years past, Zim hasn’t shied away from calling players out in his press conferences for aspects of their game that may need to improve on. Shariff Floyd was called out for consistently being injured while Anthony Barr was criticized for not giving enough effort during games. Following the 2016 season, Zimmer acknowledged himself that maybe he had been too aggressive in calling players out to the media and that some players may not take this type of criticisms too well. This is something Zimmer definitely worked on himself during this past season and was something that was not as common. However, as Zimmer and Spielman started their end-of-the-year evaluations of the team in preparation for the offseason, Zimmer reverted back to his old ways. He had some strong words of wisdom for third year receiver, Laquon Treadwell.
“Laquon needs to get out of his own way,” Zimmer explained. “He’s a guy that works extremely hard, probably doesn’t do things the right way all of the time. We’ll be in training camp and he’ll run the stadium steps at night, which is not helping him for practice the next day. He thinks he’s trying to get better, trying to get better, he’s just going about it the wrong way. So, he needs to get out of his own way.”
During a separate sit-down with KFAN, Zimmer shared a piece of wisdom Bill Parcells once told him: “First year, benefit of the doubt, second year, show me something, third you’re out.”
These are some pretty harsh words of criticism by Zimmer and ones that should not be taken lightly by Laquon Treadwell. The young receiver’s first two years in the league have simply not been great and fans have been quick to label him as a draft bust. Treadwell’s first year in the league was mostly shrouded by some nagging injuries that were bad enough for him to ask to be put on injured reserve to effectively end his season. This request was denied. The emergence of Adam Thielen and Steffon Diggs as two of the NFL’s elite as well as a new-found chemistry between Sam Bradford and Kyle Rudolph definitely took opportunities from the rookie receiver. During his second year with the Vikings, Treadwell did marginally improve catching 20 passes for just 200 yards. He saw the field more and was used extensively for run blocking, a skill that that is greatly coveted by Zimmer and Spielman in their wide receivers.
To me, it really sounds like Treadwell is giving his all to this team and that his heart is really in the right place. It just might be that he’s simply overthinking things or that he’s possibly reverting to some old habits he established while in college. In his second year at Ole Miss, Treadwell suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle but was able to return for his junior campaign. Despite the injury, he caught 82 passes totaling 1153 yards and 11 touchdowns. His ability to overcome this great of adversity tells me that he has the drive, the want, and need to be a successful football player. In addition, he has all of the physical attributes necessary. I can’t help but get flashbacks of Treadwell’s two-point conversion against the Chargers on a jump ball in the very first preseason game in US Bank stadium. Despite being on a team loaded with offensive weapons that aren’t going anywhere, Laquon can step up. According to Zimmer, he just has to go out there and do it. This is a big off-season for the Vikings’ former number one draft pick and we have no reason to believe that he won’t put all of the pieces together.