Sixteen months ago, it was difficult to envision Laquon Treadwell walking, much less walking across the stage, a first-round pick on his way to shake hands with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Yet there he was Thursday night, holding a Minnesota Vikings jersey after they selected the former Ole Miss star with the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft.

Treadwell’s horrific leg injury, suffered against Auburn in 2014, was so severe some wondered whether he’d play again. Even more wondered whether he’d ever get back to All-SEC form.

He silenced everybody with a junior season to remember: 82 catches for a league-high 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns. He threw blocks and passes.

He caught seven passes for 114 yards and a game-sealing touchdown at Auburn.

His broken leg was merely the latest and most public obstacle he had to overcome.

Making it out of suburban Chicago, one of six children in a single-parent home, spoke to his determination.

Trouble was everywhere — except in his house.

“I wouldn’t allow it,” Treadwell’s mother, Tami Treadwell, told the Chicago Tribune.

“Every student-athlete in Chicago goes through it,” Treadwell told the paper. “Few get the chance to separate themselves and do something bigger, instead of falling into the gangs and the little cliques that do the wrong things.

“Some of my friends didn’t know right from wrong, and they thought ‘the normal’ is in Chicago. I always wanted more from myself.”

Thursday night, back in his hometown, he took the next big step toward realizing those dreams.