2016 NFL Draft: Are The Los Angeles Rams Even Interested In Laquon Treadwell?

With just about a month remaining until the 2016 NFL Draft, trying to read too deeply into what organizations are saying or thinking, or what their intentions might be, is most likely an act of futility. What teams do while on the clock often doesn’t line up with the pre-draft prognostications from experts or fans.

And mock drafts, while fun, are rarely a precursor of what’s to come, but with the wide receiver position being a seemingly annual need for the St. Louis, now Los Angeles, Rams, it comes as no surprise that perhaps the draft’s top wide receiver - Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell - is often linked to the team in a healthy chunk of mocks.

But what’s the likelihood the Rams actually select him? Or are the Rams even really interested in him [or any WR] in the first round, in a draft that could very well have two[+] first round talents, and several more in the second [where the Rams have two picks]?

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio sat down with Treadwell on Thursday. Treadwell "rattled off" five teams showing interest in him. The Rams were not one of them...

Treadwell rattled off the Bengals, Browns, Bears, and Cowboys among the primary teams that have shown interest. He also mentioned "New York" as a city to which he’d be traveling, but the idiot who was doing the interview (i.e., me) neglected to ask whether he meant the Jets, Giants, or both.

A couple things, before you pull out the pitchforks...

No, Treadwell certainly didn’t list every team showing interest, nor would anyone expect him to. But that was the list provided. And if you’re a fan of the idea of him donning horns in 2016, it would’ve been nice to know the Rams were one of those teams that quickly came to mind.

Instead he notes a slew of teams that employ - aside from the Browns, unless they get Josh Gordon back - a Pro Bowl caliber wide receiver.

But the Rams - whose starting trio of wideouts is Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, and Brian Quick - weren’t on the tip of his tongue. And that’s not to say there’s no interest, or that there won’t be. But it’s also possible his statement means the team has yet to, and might not, show a significant amount.

Ole Miss has their Pro Day this coming Monday, March 28. It would probably come as no surprise if every NFL team had a scout/coach on hand to take a look at Treadwell and teammates DL Robert Nkemdiche and OT Laremy Tunsil who could be the first player selected in this year’s draft.

Over at Walter Football, where they track prospect visits by player/team, they show Treadwell having met with only nine teams thus far. Again, the Rams aren’t on the short list. The Bengals, Browns, and Cowboys, along with four other teams that draft before the Rams have had some form of meeting with him thus far. If the Giants are the "New York" team he referenced with Florio, you can make it five.

Walter Football does show the Rams having met with Ohio States’s Braxton Miller, Pitt’s Tyler Boyd, and Utah State’s Hunter Sharp. Rams’ general manager Les Snead, who was recently at the scouting combine, had this to say about this year’s crop of WR’s:

I don’t want to give too many cards away, but we do like some wide receivers in this draft

There’s still plenty of time if there wasn’t serious interest for Treadwell to garner some. Perhaps a solid, long-awaited 40-yard dash time would do the trick. And only time will tell, but it’s also possible Treadwell is the 2016 version of Sammy Watkins or Amari Cooper: a Rams’ mock draft pipe dream.