NFL draft profile: Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell, physical receiver

Shutdown Corner counted down the top 50 prospects in the 2016 NFL draft with a scouting report and quotes from NFL evaluators.

11. Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell
6-foot-2, 221 pounds

Key stat: Less than a year after suffering a broken left fibula and ankle against Auburn, Treadwell turned in his best season to date: 82 catches, 1,153 yards, 11 TDs. He's the Rebels' all-time career leader in receptions.

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The skinny: Chicago-area prep basketball and football star was rated the best wide receiver recruit in the country, and he stepped in as a freshman and had a terrific year at Ole Miss. Treadwell was building on that as a sophomore before suffering that devastating injury in the ninth game of the 2014 season. Despite the major setback, it was all systems go in 2015, when he led the SEC in receiving yards and set several school records in a fabulous season with new starting quarterback Chad Kelly.

Things have cooledsince then for Treadwell, 21, who opted not to run the 40-yard dash or the 20- or 60-yard shuttle at the NFL scouting combine, saying he preferred to wait to perform at his pro day. Despite losing eight pounds and spending three weeks training strictly for the 40, Treadwell turned in pedestrian times of 4.63 and 4.65. In addition, he rubbed some teams the wrong way at the combine.

Best-suited destination: Treadwell is a well-built, forceful, highly competitive and instinctive pass catcher who could fit into any type of NFL system. He's effective working in traffic or on fades, using the sideline deftly. He's not a speed player, but Treadwell plays fast and can fit as a flanker, split end or even as a big slot receiver. His best skill might be his run blocking, as he's one of the best in the college game and could one day be as good as Larry Fitgerald, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall or Demaryius Thomas in that regard. A team such as the Minnesota Vikings that still play with a black-and-blue mentality and prefer a more intermediate passing game would be a perfect fit for the highly competitive Treadwell.

Upside: This WR class lacks top-end speed on the whole. It also lacks big, physical players, of which Treadwell is clearly the best. So in that regard, he stands alone. He's young, is only a year-plus removed from a devastating injury and could stand to play in a more sophisticated passing system that could make him elevate even more. There's a lot to like about the tougness, confidence and yards-after-contact potential of Treadwell, who has an NFL-molded game.

Downside: Teams that spend too much time with a stopwatch in their hands when scouting might pass on him, for one of the more speedy home-run options in the draft. He might be the best big receiver in the draft, but the lack of game-breaking ability is a concern. NFL coverage is tighter, and he will have to develop more disciplined route-running technique in order to maximize his separarion without that extra gear.

Scouting hot take: "I loved seeing those [40] times. I was glad he ran that. Let him fall to us. He's a 4.6 receiver all day, always was. But that's how he plays too, that's the difference. He also plays hot. He wants to get after you. We drafted [name redacted], and it was the same thing: They killed him for the 40s and when we got him we just smiled because we knew we had something special. [Treadwell] is old school. I'll take him.” — AFC college scouting director

Player comp: Marshall

Previous profiles

50. Ohio State WR Braxton Miller
49. Indiana OT Jason Spriggs
48. Florida DL Jonathan Bullard
47. Texas Tech OT Le'Raven Clark
46. Arkansas TE Hunter Henry
45. Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard
44. Michigan State QB Connor Cook
43. West Virginia S Karl Joseph
42. Michigan State DE-OLB Shilique Calhoun
41. Notre Dame WR Will Fuller
40. Pitt WR Tyler Boyd
39. Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah
38. Alabama DE-DT A'Shawn Robinson
37. Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott
36. Memphis QB Paxton Lynch
35. Alabama C Ryan Kelly
34. Louisiana Tech DT Vernon Butler
33. Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche
32. Georgia DE-OLB Leonard Floyd
31. USC S-LB Su'a Cravens
30. Alabama LB Reggie Ragland
29. Mississippi State DT-DE Chris Jones
28. Baylor NT Andrew Billings
27. Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith
26. Houston CB William Jackson III
25. Alabama RB Derrick Henry
24. Ohio State CB Eli Apple
23. Eastern Kentucky DE-OLB Noah Spence
22. Baylor WR Corey Coleman
21. Ohio State OT Taylor Decker
20. Kansas State OG Cody Whitehair
19. Michigan State OT Jack Conklin
18. Alabama DE-DT Jarran Reed
17. TCU WR Josh Doctson
16. Clemson CB Mackensie Alexander
15. Ohio State LB Darron Lee
14. Clemson DE Kevin Dodd
13. Cal QB Jared Goff
12. Clemson DE Shaq Lawson

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm