Minnesota Vikings fans have to be happy with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's rookie season. Despite being the last QB selected in the first round of the NFL draft (with the last pick in the first round, by the way), Bridgewater far outperformed his signal-calling peers Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. The Vikings surprised some folks by finishing 7-9 under rookie head coach Mike Zimmer and have planted the seed of hope for next season.
That hope will likely pay off as Bridgewater is set to breakout in 2015.
"His 7.3 yards per attempt mark is just above the 7.1 league average," Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus wrote. "He had a little help from his receivers after the catch, but he was also extremely good on downfield throws. Bridgewater connected on 121 of 190 attempts (63.7 percent) 5-plus yards downfield. Only Drew Brees (65.6 and Alex Smith (64.0) percent were better.
"Think that was simply a result of midrange accuracy? Think again. Bridgewater was also third-most accurate on throws 15-plus yards downfield. At 39-of 76 (51.3 percent), he trailed only Brees (54.3 percent) and Matt Ryan (54.1 percent)."
Bridgewater's accuracy was expected to be good coming into the league, but not this good. On top of that, some critics questioned his arm strength before last year's draft. But his above-average downfield passing skills have more than proven that he has enough to get the job done. The rest of his stats paint a good picture for the future as well.
"Some will point to Bridgewater's 14-to-12 TD-to-INT ratio as a cause for concern, but consider that rookies have combined for a 420-to422 ratio in the category over the past eight years," Clay wrote. "Bridgewater's 3.3. percent interception rate was below the 3.6 percent rookie rate during that span.
"...For good measure, Bridgewater was truly terrific down the stretch last season. Our team of analysts graded him as the league's top-performing quarterback over the final six weeks of the regular season. During that six-week span, Bridgewater was 10th in fantasy points at the position."
What also bodes well for Bridgewater's breakout candidacy is another year in this offense. Remember, Bridgewater was not the starter to begin 2014. Another year working with offensive coordinator Norv Turner, running back Jerick McKinnon and wide receivers Charles Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson will do wonders for his development. Plus, newcomer Mike Wallace and the possible return of Adrian Peterson will give the young QB even more weapons.
All things considered, things are looking pretty good for Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota Vikings in 2015.
