Most rookies view the start of their NFL careers with anticipation.
But for former Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, the beginning of his professional chapter has special meaning for a simple reason. It marks freedom from pain.
Speaking with Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com, Treadwell shared his optimism about moving on from a difficult final campaign at Ole Miss in which he fought through pain that lingered from a season-ending injury sustained in November 2014. That year, he broke his left tibia and dislocated his left ankle against Auburn.
“I was definitely tentative,’’ Treadwell, now with the Minnesota Vikings, told TwinCities.com. “I wasn’t 100 percent at all last season. I would just say [he was 100 percent] to get everyone off of me. I was like, ‘I can’t focus on what I need to focus on because everybody was asking me every day what I felt, what percentage I was.’ I just said, ‘I feel good, I’m 100 percent.’ But then after I went home at night, I was like, ‘I don’t feel right.’
“I wasn’t 100 percent in anything I did from the beginning of spring ball [in 2015] to pro day [at Mississippi on March 28]. I was playing on one leg my whole junior season. Last year wasn’t fun going out and being hurt and trying to play.”
Treadwell still produced last season. He had a career-high 1,153 yards receiving, a significant improvement from his 632 yards in 2014 and his 608 in 2013. His 11 touchdowns last year also marked a career-high total.
Still, it’s a good sign for Treadwell, drafted No. 23 overall in April, that he feels healthy enough to return to his old form without the mental and physical stress that his injury caused. The Vikings should benefit from Treadwell performing at his best.
