What Is Laquon Treadwell Trying To Show To Earn a Spot on the Jaguars?: ‘That I Can Ball’

Treadwell's path to the Jaguars is well-documented. The former five-star receiver and No. 1 receiver recruit in the nation was a first-round pick for the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, going off the board at No. 23 overall. 

Treadwell's time with Minnesota was up-and-down as other receivers earned prominent roles and broke out in the passing game, leading to Treadwell starting 16 games in 14 seasons and catching 65 passes for 701 yards and two touchdowns in 53 appearances.

A year after his rookie deal ran out, Treadwell spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and caught six passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns in five games. The next summer, Treadwell found himself impressing Urban Meyer and his staff in Florida as he caught passes from Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew. 

“Treadwell came in, and I'll tell you, he's in the hunt for a spot," Meyer said after Sunday's scrimmage, the same scrimmage in which Treadwell made the play of the day when he made a diving catch on a deep pass from Trevor Lawrence. 

"Well, I still got to do it every day, you know, I come in every day with that same chip on my shoulder, with that same mindset of nothing's given to me. And it hasn't been given to me since I've been here," Treadwell told Jaguar Report. 

"And I got to keep working, I got to keep earning my keeps and being a great teammate and being coachable every day. So that's my whole mindset."

The Jaguars have given Treadwell plenty of opportunities, and the veteran receiver has done nothing but impressed with them. 

The Jaguars have seen three of their top four receivers (DJ Chark, Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault, Phillip Dorsett) miss practices in camp this year, with three of the four sometimes missing the same practice. As a result, Treadwell has been given ample chances to put reps on tape and impress Meyer and the Jaguars' staff. 

To this point, he has done just that. He has been used in a few different roles in the offense, with both Lawrence and Minshew finding success throwing to Treadwell thanks to his size, strong hands and detailed route-running.

"I mean, I can only start talking about from this point; I've done everything I can do. You know, I've done a lot. I've made a lot of plays," Treadwell said when asked if he thinks he has met the challenge. "But I know it's a long season. I know it's a long camp still, we got preseason. So it's a lot still in front of me and I'm taking it a day at a time.

"And whatever happens on a day, I evaluate it, you know, I hold myself to a higher standard and I come back and try to be better than next day. And that's where my focus is."

Treadwell was a name that popped out to Meyer in June due to Meyer's obvious college connections. Meyer was still an active college head coach when Treadwell was one of the nation's top recruits, and Treadwell knew his reputation well before he signed with the Jaguars. 

But to this point, Treadwell's time with Meyer and the Jaguars has been a success. The work isn't done and the camp has yet to close, but the former first-rounder has answered Meyer's challenges at every turn, no matter how difficult the task.

"First and foremost, it's been great. You know, it's been a great camp. Definitely a lot harder than most camps that I'm used to. But that's what to expect when you got a winning coach," Treadwell said. "You know, Urban Meyer gonna set the tone for everyone out here, you know, so he's making us all know, work to our edge every day and push that 1% to be better. So I'm definitely locked in on that. It's been a great camp.

"I can tell why he's won a lot at every level that he's been on. From Ohio State to Florida, you know, and all the guys he's coached, you know, went on to have successful careers. It is the mindset that he puts you in on a day-to-day basis to go out and give your best and achieve your best. And, you know, he rubbed it off on all his players. And it is for you to buy in and accept it and I've had a great time doing that."

Ultimately, it will be what Treadwell does over the next month that will help determine if he has fulfilled his goal and made the Jaguars' roster. But a player who was once an afterthought signing has emerged as a camp star, earning the trust of those around him more and more each day. 

And as Treadwell continues to work and stack together impressive practices, he will focus on the only thing he can control: himself. 

Not on who is throwing him the ball. Not on who is covering him or who is on the field with him. Instead, he will focus on Treadwell and putting his best self on the Jaguars' practice field each day.

"I'm more focused on coming out here and being my best self, you know, and letting the coaches evaluate me for who I am and not keeping my eye on the next guy and worrying about what he's doing and what he got going on. And just coming out and being my best self," Treadwell said. 

"So with that, I'm just focused on just being my best self. And whatever happens, happens. I don't have control over who they keep, you know, what happens from this point, so I just got to keep doing my best."