Around this time last year, when the Vikings used their first-round pick on Laquon Treadwell, a 6-2 split-end wide receiver out of Ole Miss, it looked as if the Vikings had found a perfect fit for Norv Turner's vertical passing attack. But six months or so later, so much had changed.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with a career-threatening knee injury, the Vikings traded their 2017 first-round pick to replace him with Sam Bradford, and Turner resigned midway through the season.
Pat Shurmur replaced Turner as the play-caller, and with Bradford flinging short passes left and right, wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph all established career highs in catches.