20/20: Laquon Treadwell

Posted on February 25, 2016

Welcome to 20/20. As part of our continued Dynasty Scouts coverage and in preparation for the NFL Combine later this month, we’ll be profiling 20 of the top incoming rookies of the class of 2016 by giving you 20 facts you must know.

1.) Player Name – Laquon Treadwell

2.) College – Mississippi

3.) Height/Weight – 6-foot-3, 215 pounds

4.) Birth date – 6/14/95 (20)

5.) Class – Junior

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6.) Basic college stats – 2015 – 82 catches, 1,153 yards (14.1 ypc) 11 touchdowns
2014 – 48 catches, 632 yards (13.2 ypc), 5 touchdowns

2013 – 72 catches, 608 yards (8.4 ypc), 5 touchdowns
7.) NFL Draft round projection – Treadwell is considered the top receiver in the draft and is a sure fire first-round pick. He will likely go somewhere in the top 20.

8.) Current NFL comp – While it’s probably the most common comparison for Treadwell, he is very reminiscent of former South Carolina receiver and current Bears star Alshon Jeffery. Both players are extremely physical and “win” in the air and in contested catch situations. Jeffery and Treadwell both also lack speed, but neither player really needs amazing speed since they don’t play the role of deep threat for their respective teams.

9.) Best possible destination – New Orleans Saints

The Saints have Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead, but neither are built like prototypical X receivers. Treadwell would step in as the team’s top receiver and open up the entire offense. Cooks would receive less attention from defense and would be able to create big plays more often because of the lack of attention. He would also give the Saints a great presence in the red zone, something they lacked desperately last year.

10.) Worst possible destination – San Francisco 49ers

If the 49ers draft Treadwell, it likely means they will be entering the season with Blaine Gabbert or Colin Kaepernick as their starting quarterback. They would likely rely on a run heavy scheme, which would likely maximize the potential of the offense but limit the fantasy potential of the receivers. The team has Torrey Smith, and Deandre Smelter as receivers there for the foreseeable future, and Anquan Boldin there for at least this season. This will likely limit cause a defense to roll its coverage toward Treadwell, giving him a low number of targets.

11.) Best current skill – Treadwell’s physicality is his best skill at the moment. He is an elite run blocker, is physical with defenders at the line of scrimmage, and is physical at the catch point. Because of how physical he is, Treadwell is able to position his frame well for jump balls, and thus excels in contested catch situations.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved – Treadwell is currently a very raw route runner. While he appears to be able to know how to run the majority of routes in the route tree, none of them are very refined or precise. He tends to round off his routes, and isn’t crisp in and out of his breaks.

13.) Past/current rookie ADP – 1st overall, first wide receiver (February); first overall, first wide receiver (September)

14.) Projected dynasty value – Treadwell will likely be picked between late second and fourth round range of dynasty startups, making him a WR2 or high end WR3 for fantasy teams. Even though the past few drafts have contained elite receivers who have broken into the top 12, WR1 tier, of receivers I don’t see Treadwell ever reaching that as a fantasy asset. He could develop into a solid possession receiver with a nose for the end zone, which would make him a solid to high end WR2 for a long time.

15.) As a Recruit – Treadwell was a consensus five-star recruit, and the number one receiver in the class of 2013 according to 247sports composite rankings. He was the ranked 14th overall player nationally, and the top player in the state of Illinois.

16.) DLF Rankings – Treadwell is ranked as the number one receiver by every ranker at DLF. He is the consensus number one overall player, with all but two rankers (Austan Kas and Mike Valverde, who both have him ranked second) having him as their top overall player.

17.) Speed Concerns? – Many people believe that Treadwell lacks speed, and would test poorly in the 40-yard dash by running a time in the 4.6-4.7 range. Because of this, Treadwell decided he will not run the 40 at the combine, and will instead run at his pro day.

18.) Gruesome Injury – In his game against Auburn, Treadwell suffered a horrific injury. After catching a screen, Treadwell burst into the open field and sprinted 20 yards for what looked like the go ahead touchdown that would seal an Ole Miss upset of Auburn. Instead, Treadwell was ruled to have fumbled the ball at the one yard line after being brought down by an Auburn defender from behind. In the process of all this, his leg essentially snapped, and he suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle. He was able to play this season at full strength without any signs of it affecting him.

19.) One of Ole Miss’ Best – Treadwell currently ranks second in Ole Miss history with 196 career catches, fourth with 2,322 receiving yards, fourth with 18 TD catches and is tied for second with nine career 100-yard receiving games. He also caught a pass in all 34 games that he played in.

20.) Human Highlight Reel – Check out Treadwell’s highlights here!

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