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When Laquon Treadwell was the Vikings first round draft pick in 2016, it was thought he was going to come in and be a big contributor right away. After all, the top two wide receivers from 2015 were Stefon Diggs and Mike Wallace, and Wallace had already moved on. So essentially, it was just Diggs, a fifth round pick entering his second year...and a TON of question marks. Treadwell was walking into a very favorable situation in terms of being able to produce and make an impact right away,
But Treadwell never was able to get established, and as Diggs and then Adam Thielen developed into the best WR duo in the NFL, Treadwell fell farther and farther behind, and Saturday, he ended up being released.
His career numbers are bust level—three seasons, 56 catches, 517 yards, and one score—but is he the biggest bust ever for the Vikings?
Let’s take a look at some of the bigger busts, and you decide.
D.J. Dozier, 1987: Dozier was drafted to bolster a fairly anemic running game...and he actually made it more anemic, if possible. he ended up spending four years with the VIkings, netting a total of 643 yards rushing. The Dozier mistake led to what was the biggest mistake in franchise history—the Herschel Walker trade in 1989, as the Vikings looked to find the missing piece that would complete what they thought was a Super Bowl team.
Yeah...no.
Demetrius Underwood, 1999: I’m not even including Underwood in the poll below, because he is, without question, the Vikings all time biggest bust. He was drafted with the 29th overall pick, went to one practice in Mankato, and that was it. Never put on a Vikings uniform again, and it was due to some really serious mental health issues. In fact, the Michigan State coaching staff actually sent a letter to every NFL team telling them they should avoid Underwood. Denny Green thought he could handle him, as most coaches do. He couldn’t.
Troy Williamson, 2005: In a way, I feel bad for Williamson. He was put in a no-win situation from the second he was drafted, because no wide receiver drafted in the same off-season Randy Moss was traded was ever going to be considered a success, no matter how good he was. It was just a colossally stupid move by the organization.
But Williamson didn’t help himself much, either. It felt like he dropped more passes than he caught, was looking to try to improve everything from his gloves to his vision to try and figure out how to catch a football, and was ultimately gone after three years, 79 catches, 1,079 yards, and three touchdowns.
Christian Ponder, 2011: After Brett Favre retired in 2010, the Vikings needed a quarterback, and they reached for Ponder in the first round, after Cam Newton, Jake Locker, and Blaine Gabbert went off the board in the first 10 picks. Ponder took over for an ineffective Donovan McNabb, and after a couple of early promising games, he began to struggle. And the more he struggled, the more the Vikings leaned on Adrian Peterson, and Ponder’s game slipped even more. His ineffectiveness reached new depths in 2013, and it led to the Vikings drafting Teddy Bridgewater in 2014.
Poll
Besides Demetrius Underwood, who is the biggest Vikings bust?
This poll is closed
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11%
DJ Dozier
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26%
Troy Williamson
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36%
Christian Ponder
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21%
Laquon Treadwell
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3%
Other