Laquon Treadwell may eventually become the knight in shining armor the Minnesota Vikings need in the future; but for the sake of expectation, let us please temper the excitement for a player entering his first season in the league.

The Minnesota Vikings passing game sputtered much through the 2016 season; with the team resorting to activating its fifth round pick out of Maryland, Stefon Diggs, to see if he could insert some sort of jolt into the offense after Charles Johnson suffered an injury and was held out for a number of games.

As history explains itself, Diggs became the leading receiver on a team that was banking on a Mike Wallace trade to resolve their issues at wide receiver. Wallace is gone- and now a Raven- with Diggs the leading receiver on this Vikings’ team; needless to say the front office didn’t exactly resolve the issue of needing help with a veteran receiver, hoping the youth movement in the draft will be enough.

The problem at hand wasn’t derived from Wallace himself, but the offense being primarily predicated on running the rock with Adrian Peterson, as Teddy Bridgewater played the role of not making any mistakes. In return, the Vikings ranked among the worst in the league in passing attempts of 20+ yards and completion percentage on those balls thrown down the field.

The equation worked beautifully when the Minnesota Vikings played in TCF Bank Stadium. As the months go on, the weather in Minnesota became frigid, a very underrated advantage the Vikings used to its full extent. The physical nature of their play wore on opponents, allowing them to give opposing teams a heavy dose of Adrian Peterson last season, not to mention the dry nature of the weather would take the air out of the ball, making it hard for both the heave long balls down the field.

Now that Teddy Bridgewater will be playing indoors, the statistics and balls thrown will go up in succession, which should bode well for wide receivers and tight ends alike if Norv Turner allows.

Now to the curious case of Laquon Treadwell, an SEC product who played some of the best in college and made some of the most spectacular catches seen last year. The Ole Miss receiver had an All-SEC season with a 82 receptions, 1,153 yards and 11 touchdown stat line. It’s more astonishing knowing that Treadwell was still recovering from a serious leg fracture he suffered the year before and still has yet to be running at a full 100%.

After all the draft hoopla quieted down and all the noise was to be made on the practice field, Treadwell and the rest of the rookies headed to the Vikings rookie mini camp, where the first round receiver showed off his play-making abilities on more than one occasion. But once the rookie joined the rest of the team, Treadwell took a slight step back.

The mental errors started to take its toll, with a lack of focus contributing to a case of the drops for the first round rookie. Treadwell has found himself playing with the third and second string for the most part, with Stefon Diggs and Charles Johnson taking the reigns with the first team offense.

Many expect Treadwell to show more of his capabilities with the pads on, as he is known for making the tough grabs and being physical at the point of attack with the defensive backs. Not one to be burner on the outside, Treadwell thrives in contact, something he will receive with Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes breathing down his neck.

Predictions? Well granted the fact that the Vikings haven’t had a 1,000 yard wide receiver since the 2009 season, expectation isn’t exactly high for any of the wide receivers to break that mark this season, especially the first round rookie.

The thought here as that the Vikings will give the rookie time to learn, with some spot time play early on with a steadily increased role as the season continues. If an injury occurs then just maybe Treadwell could find himself starting, but highly doubtful.

The magic eight ball predicts that first round rookie, Treadwell, will catch 45 balls for 620 yards and three touchdowns. Mind you that Diggs led the team last year with 720 yards receiving in 13 games played. Throw out the unrealistic Bucky Brooks expectations noted on NFL.com of 65 catches for 850 yards and 10 touchdowns; Bridgewater threw for only 14 TDs as a whole last season, that vastly enlarged increase would be welcomed, but not very likely.

Moderate your assumptions for the Ole’ Miss products folks; Treadwell has the size and catching radius to be a key red zone contributor this season, but Zimmer will only play the guys who are ready. Laquon Treadwell has a ways to go to be ready, depending on how quickly the young receiver matures in the league.