The Minnesota Vikings had a great defense and the best running back of his generation in 2015. Those two things alone are enough to take a team far and the Vikings won the NFC North. But Teddy Bridgewater didn’t make that jump franchise quarterbacks make to year two.
His biggest problems were converting on third down and scoring in the red zone. A true No. 1 receiver can go in there and help Bridgewater out in both areas.Stephon Diggs is a great route-running receiver but lacks the size to consistently go over the middle and win 50-50 balls.
And Cordarrelle Patterson is a bust whose 5th-year option was declined by the Vikings. So the team selected Laquon Treadwell in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. And the very early reviews from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater after two practices are positive.
Bridgewater told Vikings.com, “He’s going to be big for this team. There’s a reason that we drafted him in the first round. He’s been here with us for two days now, and he’s been looking good. I’m not qualified to judge players and things like that, but from what I’ve been seeing, I’ve been pretty impressed.”
A couple of unpadded practices don’t make a receiver but most of what receivers do doesn’t come with contact. So quarterbacks can usually tell when they can work with a receiver in offseason workouts. So there’s reason to believe the Vikings don’t have another Cordarrelle Patterson in their hands.