I see that the Vikings have signed Kendall Wright. This move increases my gut feeling that Laquon Treadwell is simply never going to get his career off the ground.
Wright has had a disappointing career himself (considering he was selected in the first round) but caught 94 passes for the Titans in 2013. Wright has three other seasons with over 55 catches, including catching 59 balls for a lesser Chicago offense last year.
Wright doesn’t have much speed but has shown some ability to operate as an underneath receiver, so the Vikings are likely thinking he’ll operate as their slot receiver. That’s a straight-up Wright-Wright swap; Jarius Wright held that spot last year, but they cut him loose.
But if Wright is playing in the slot, that would mean Treadwell won’t be on the field much. Certainly he’s not beating out Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen. Some teams have had success putting big receivers in the slot, using size rather than quickness on those underneath routes. Think Larry Fitzgerald, Jordan Matthews, Michael Thomas, Anquan Boldin and Marques Colston.
The Vikings apparently aren’t doing that, so I’m guessing they’ll have Treadwell as the primary backup for those two outside receivers. He’ll get a few plays here and there but mostly will have to wait for either Diggs or Thielen to get hurt – that would give him a chance to show that he can play.
Entering the draft in 2016, many felt Treadwell was the best receiver in that draft. But he’s a big, painfully slow receiver, so separation will always be an issue for him, and it’s not easy trying to get catches against NFL cornerbacks. He hasn’t been able to do much of anything in his first two seasons, and generally with wide receivers, if they are going to be big-time players, they will show us something in their first two years.
In the last 20 years, 20 other wide receivers selected in the first round failed to catch 50 combined passes in their first two seasons. Of that group, only one of those wide receivers ever want on to prove himself to be worthy of a first-round pick Santana Moss, I think it’s fair to say, had a really good career. If we could wind the clock back, I don’t think any of the others would be chosen even in the second round. (Robert Meachem caught a bunch of touchdowns in his third year in a great offense, but he never really got his career rocking to the point where he was a feared, accepted receiver in the league.)
If I were in a dynasty league, I would be comfortable letting Treadwell bounce onto the waiver wire. I don’t think it’s happening for him.
On this chart, I’m showing the 21 discussed wide receivers, along with their receiving totals after their first two seasons.
| SLOW-STARTING FIRST-ROUND RECEIVERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pk | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2000 | 21 | Sylvester Morris, K.C. | 48 | 678 | 14.1 | 3 |
| 1997 | 27 | Rae Carruth, Car. | 48 | 604 | 12.6 | 4 |
| 2004 | 29 | Michael Jenkins, Atl. | 43 | 627 | 14.6 | 3 |
| 2001 | 8 | David Terrell, Chi. | 43 | 542 | 12.6 | 7 |
| 2011 | 26 | Jon Baldwin, K.C. | 41 | 579 | 14.1 | 2 |
| 2016 | 22 | Josh Doctson, Wash. | 37 | 568 | 15.4 | 6 |
| 2005 | 10 | Mike Williams, Det. | 37 | 449 | 12.1 | 2 |
| 2009 | 7 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak. | 35 | 490 | 14.0 | 2 |
| 2015 | 26 | Breshad Perriman, Balt. | 33 | 499 | 15.1 | 3 |
| 2001 | 25 | Freddie Mitchell, Phil. | 33 | 388 | 11.8 | 1 |
| 2001 | 16 | • Santana Moss, NYJ | 32 | 473 | 14.8 | 6 |
| 2007 | 30 | Craig Davis, S.D. | 24 | 247 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 2003 | 2 | Charles Rogers, Det. | 22 | 243 | 11.0 | 3 |
| 2016 | 23 | Laquon Treadwell, Min. | 21 | 215 | 10.2 | 0 |
| 2015 | 7 | Kevin White, Chi. | 19 | 187 | 9.8 | 0 |
| 2000 | 29 | R. Jay Soward, Jac. | 14 | 154 | 11.0 | 1 |
| 2007 | 27 | Robert Meachem, N.O. | 12 | 289 | 24.1 | 4 |
| 2012 | 30 | A.J. Jenkins, S.F. | 8 | 130 | 16.3 | 0 |
| 2004 | 31 | Rashaun Woods, S.F. | 7 | 160 | 22.9 | 1 |
| 1998 | 30 | Marcus Nash, Den. | 4 | 76 | 19.0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 15 | Yatil Green, Mia. | 0 | 0 | --- | 0 |
—Ian Allan