Teddy Bridgewater may have been the third quarterback selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, but he finished this season as the most impressive rookie passer by a longshot.
While Blake Bortles (No. 3) toiled away in Jacksonville and Johnny Manziel (No. 22) stole headlines in Cleveland, it was Bridgewater (No. 32) who quietly put together a pretty solid season for the 7-9 Minnesota Vikings.
Bridgewater started slowly, but picked it up in the latter half of the season.
"In the six games after the first Bears game [Week 11], the Vikings averaged 24 points and 342.5 yards per game. That's about four more points and about 30 yards more than the team's averages for the entire season," Mark Craig of the Star-Tribune wrote.
"In December, Bridgewater ranked first in the league in average yards per attempt (9.18), second in completion percentage (72.3), and fourth in passer rating (99.8). Meanwhile, the team ranked 12th in net yards and seventh in net passing in December."
Bridgewater's rookie season is especially impressive when you remember that former MVP Adrian Peterson missed all but one game and receiver Cordarrelle Patterson never broke out as expected. From a fantasy perspective, Bridgewater is on the rise for next season.
"I thought the Vikings put on a clinic in terms of using and developing a rookie quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater didn't have to fight questions during the preseason about being the starter (that was Matt Cassel's gig) and [head coach Mike] Zimmer hired Norv Turner and his son Scott to oversee the offense and quarterbacks," ESPN's Field Yates wrote. "Bridgewater slid into the starting role when Cassel was placed on injured reserve, and though the youngster had some rookie moments, he truly appeared to be taking one step forward each week. 2015 could be a breakthrough season for Bridgewater."
The former Louisville star's overall numbers back up that assertion. Bridgewater finished 2014 with a completion percentage of 64.4, good for 12th-best in the NFL and higher than marks produced by Tom Brady, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson.
Obviously, Bridgewater will have to improve his 14:12 TD-to-INT ration. But turnovers are expected from rookie passers. Bridgewater finished the year as a top-20 fantasy QB in games he played, averaging 13 points a week in 13 games. A bounce back year from Patterson and some better production from the running back position could elevate Bridgewater into QB2 territory.
