The Vikings drafted wide receiver Laquon Treadwell in the first round of this year’s draft and many thought that he’d move immediately into the team’s lineup as they worked to improve their passing offense from last season.
Treadwell’s ascent hasn’t been that quick, however. The rookie didn’t play any snaps in Minnesota’s Week One victory over the Titans as Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson, Adam Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson were the wideouts to see action. Coach Mike Zimmer said after the game that Treadwell “still has work to do” and Treadwell said Wednesday that he’ll put it in.
“It was more mentally challenging,” Treadwell said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But you’ve got to go through it, create some fuel, I guess, to play harder. I don’t know. I’ve never been through this. I’ll just come in and work harder and get better.”
Zimmer told Treadwell before the game that he wouldn’t be playing unless there was an injury and pointed out that Diggs didn’t play for several weeks as a rookie before moving into a prominent spot in the offense when the team deemed him ready to go. With Johnson catching just one pass for five yards on six targets, an opening for Treadwell may not be far off if he does the work that Zimmer wants to see.
