Vikings Reportedly ‘Really Pleased’ w/ Laquon Treadwell’s Progress this Off-Season

This photo was taken by Jerry Holt of the Star Tribune

Now, if there are two things you know about me as the owner of purplePTSD.com it’s that I love Moritz Boehringer and have never been the biggest fan of Laquon Treadwell. So, I can’t write this article without perhaps eating some crow, crow that I’d gladly eat if it meant that Treadwell would emerge into the player the Vikings thought they had when they drafted him with their first pick in last season’s draft. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of his before or after the draft, his skill-set could really help the Vikings out, especially in the red-zone this season, so of course I’d love for him to make me look bad.

After the Vikings added around ten receivers this off-season (Between the draft, free agency and veteran mini-camps) a lot of people really interpreted that as the writing on the wall for the young… Ole Miss receiver. However, it’s looking like Treadwell very well may come through in a big way in 2017, after all. While those signings weren’t the end for Treadwell, they did perhaps signal to him that the team needed him to make giant steps in his second season if he was serious about making this team. That was alluded to by Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur back in February, a time in which he called this off-season “Critical” for Treadwell. We discussed this on the purpleJOURNAL Podcast this week, and considering the amount of work he has put in since arriving in Minnesota (He’s a really, really hard worker) it was hard to think what else he could do to improve considering his skill-set simply didn’t seem to translate to the NFL.

However, there is a school of thought that has said that Treadwell was injured for most of the 2016 season, and that explained his lack of time on the field. Whether that was a new injury or the fact that he was still recovering from the devastating leg injury he sustained as a Sophomore at Ole Miss (A broken tibia and dislocated ankle) depends on who you ask. But, it’s safe to say that he simply didn’t look like a player that could cut it in today’s NFL during limited action last season. Whatever the change has been this off-season, it’s apparently working. With Treadwell listed on the depth-chart and in drills during this week’s OTA’s as the third receiver (Behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen), he is apparently carrying things over from a great month or two of workouts. ESPN spoke with Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur this week, who said the following:

“He’s had a great, in my opinion, five-and-a-half weeks, he came back and he was really on point with what he’s supposed to be doing mentally. He’s been out here competing and doing a nice job running routes and catching the ball. Understanding where he fits in the running game and who to block. To this point, we’ve been really pleased with his progress based on a year ago.”

One of the main things that stands out to me here is the “Mental” aspect of Shurmur’s quote. Despite having a reputation as the most “Pro-Ready” receiver in 2016’s NFL Draft, the reality was that Treadwell only ran a handful of routes in college. The mental aspect of the NFL game is always a hard transition for young players, especially receivers, so if you come in behind to begin with it can take a really long time for players to learn the ropes. Because of that, a lot of young players end up also thinking too much while running their routes, so they can end up looking a lot slower that they’d otherwise be and that affects how they play and thus their playing time. It’s basically a cycle. So, hearing that Treadwell is “On-Point” mentally is extremely encouraging. That should allow him to be a lot more comfortable on the field and really allow him to just PLAY. I haven’t seen him play in person since last year’s training camp, but I’d bet that that’s why he’s looked so much better this off-season.

We also discussed this on podcast as well but the Vikings suddenly have a pretty talented and large wide receiver corps. I, like others, didn’t really expect Treadwell to contribute much this season, especially after they brought in Michael Floyd a couple weeks ago. However, this has always been a passing offense (And by always I mean since the beginning of last season… Cough) that spreads the ball around. So, if Treadwell can carry these positive six weeks into the season, then it’d just add another amazing caveat to the Vikings offense. Treadwell is known as the type of receiver who will fight for the ball and come down with contested catches by mostly over-powering his opponent, if he’s the third or fourth receiver he’ll be going up against nickel corners more often than not. The idea of him doing that along-side Floyd, Diggs and Thielen makes me even more excited than I was just yesterday.

I really can’t wait for the season to start. I think that the Vikings offense will be extremely well-balanced and thought that even before hearing about Treadwell’s positive growth. While it’s just the off-season and there’s still a lot that needs to happen before we can be assured that Treadwell is going to have a break-out second season, at the same time, this offense doesn’t NEED him to do a lot. While that’s a good position for him to be in, it speaks volumes about the team that Rick Spielman and company have put together and shows me just how great the 2017 Vikings could be. So. Right now it appears that everything is coming up Purple and Gold and while that traditionally has made me nervous (Waiting for the other shoe to drop), I am not going to lie, I’m totally geeked for the season and can’t wait for it to start!

So, to hold me/us over and just for some fun, here are some Treadwell highlights!

Bad music warning!

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