Rookie Profile – Laquon Treadwell, WR Ole Miss

Tyler Morales Posted On March 23, 2016

We are not blessed with a loaded crop of wide receivers as we have been the previous two years, but this class does not completely lack talent, either. We do not have the Sammy Watkins or Amari Cooper type of players in this class but we do have players who can make an immediate impact in the NFL – one such player will be Laquon Treadwell of Ole Miss.

I have been following Treadwell since he was a high school senior at Crete-Monee in Chicago and have studied every game of his during his career at Ole Miss. Some consider Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman or Michael Thomas as the top wide receiver prospect in the 2016 draft, but I have to respectfully disagree with those opinions. In fact, I believe Treadwell is in his own league and deserves to be mentioned as the consensus number one wide receiver in this class.

Laquon Treadwell is 6-foot-2, 221 pounds and still just 20 years old. He came to Ole Miss as a five-star recruit and was part of the best recruiting class the Rebels have potentially ever brought in. During his first two years at Ole Miss, Treadwell had to work with one of the worst SEC quarterbacks we have seen in some time in the form of Bo Wallace. He still managed to haul in 72 catches for 608 yards, score five touchdowns and cement himself as the best young receiver prospect in college football. As a sophomore, Treadwell suffered a horrific leg injury against Auburn that cut his season short and some wondered if he would ever be the same player.

They were wrong.

Treadwell rehabbed as hard as I have ever seen a player rehab. All his workouts were posted onto his Instagram and you could tell he wanted to be back and better than ever. Nobody expected him to come back the way he did his junior year after suffering such an ugly injury. His junior season would be his best by far, he caught 82 passes for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns. He showcased everything you would want in a prototypical number one wide receiver. Not only is he the type of player you want on your team but he is also the type of person you want in your locker room as he exhibits a strong work ethic and leads by example.

Let’s take a look at Treadwell’s Mock Draftable Chart which displays his measurables and analytics to other 2016 Combine participants:

The biggest issue people have with Treadwell is his athleticism (or lack there of). He chose not to run his 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and that rose some red flags, especially after his lackluster 40-time at his pro day. However, he is not the kind of player who will blow you away with his athletic testing numbers, he makes his impact on the field. On the field, Treadwell is athletic as any receiver in this draft. In fact, Treadwell’s Mock Draftable Chart compares closely to Cleveland Browns wideout Josh Gordon, even though Gordon posted better testing numbers than Treadwell. Simply put, the “lack” of athleticism from Treadwell does not show up on the field and these numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Next, let’s turn our attention Treadwell’s profile from PlayerProfiler.com.

treadwell

When you look at the metrics, it’s not all that impressive. However, don’t find yourself being fooled. Let’s take a look at the film because that is all that really matters when it comes to scouting NFL prospects. I decided to use a highlight tape rather then pick out a particular game because I want everyone to see what he is capable of doing. I fully recommend watching individual games instead of a single highlight tape to scout a player.

[youtube id=”bauQfZ8OmLk” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”1037″ thumbnail=”Treadwell”]

The first thing you notice about Treadwell is his strong hands. He may have the best pair of hands in this whole class. He can make any catch on the field thanks to his impressive catch radius – just throw the ball in his direction and he should be able to come down with it. Nobody is stronger with the ball in his hands – it is truly Dez Bryant like. He runs with such a ferocity with the ball in his hands that it will take more than one defender to bring him down. His hands/size combination are deadly and should translate into the NFL immediately. He will be a instant red-zone threat to whatever team drafts him.

Treadwell does not lack any athleticism on the field. It is kind of crazy that a player who people say can’t run fast is able to separate from cornerbacks with such ease. He makes up for his “lack of speed” with size, hands and separation skills. In the open field, he does have some wiggle to him and can even run over cornerbacks if he needs to. He has a suddenness to his route running that allows him to get open. Not many (if any) prospects this year are as complete of a wide receiver as Treadwell.

Summary

In my opinion, Treadwell is the consensus No. 1 wide receiver prospect in this draft and that will not change. People need to remember he was able to dominate in the most talented conference in all of college football.

Expect Treadwell to be picked early in the first round of fantasy rookie drafts. Whatever team drafts him will be getting an instant contributor who should post solid rookie numbers. The 20-year-old Treadwell should be one of your early targets in any and all dynasty leagues.

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