Buy or Sell: Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater
ADP: 123.4
QB: 18

Teddy Bridgewater took over the starting quarterback role in Week four last season for the Vikings, when stopgap solution Matt Cassel went out with an injury. Norv Turner eased him into the offense, gradually releasing the reigns as Bridgewater showed that there wasn’t much that was too big for him to handle.

He finished with a 64.4 percent completion percentage, 85.2 rating and 14:12 TD-to-INT ratio. But it’s the last five games, when he completed over 70 percent of his passes and started going downfield more that has Viking fans excited.

He’s currently being drafted in the 10th round of standard drafts—what do you think?

Buy: Tony

I’m admittedly a bit of a homer on this one, but even my homerism is based on a lot of logic. Bridgewater showed a lot last year, despite a number of things going against him. The Vikings were without their star running back, meaning defenses wouldn’t be as likely to bite on play fakes, and didn’t need to load the box to stop the run. Kyle Rudolph was injured for most of the season, and didn’t appear to be back to full strength when he came back. And the expected breakout of Cordarrelle Patterson didn’t happen, leaving the Vikings with a top WR corps that were either past their prime or a scrap heap pickup.

This year? Peterson is back, Rudolph is back (with a badass sleeve tattoo to prove his toughness</sarcasm>), and a true vertical threat was added in Mike Wallace. Add it all together with a full offseason of prep for Touchdown Teddy, and you see why the pundits are starting to call the Vikings this year’s surprise team (which frankly scares me, as a fan).

But let’s look even beyond that—let’s simply look at some of the QB going ahead of Bridgewater. Colin Kaepernick (125.3, 18)—really? Would you rather take a shot on a high ceiling in the 10th round, or go with a “proven” commodity that doesn’t appear to have much upside, other than he’ll probably be playing from behind a lot? Jameis Winston (120.4, 16), a completely unproven rookie, who does have some good targets at WR, but also has a lot of question marks and little proven in the running game. And most inexplicable, Marcos Mariota (113.6, 13), another unproven rookie, but without the attractive WR, still no running game, and never having played in a pro style offense?

I’m not suggesting Bridgewater should be going in rounds 5-6 here, but if I don’t land Rodgers or Luck in the first 16 picks (or maybe Brees in the top 40), I might load up on position players even longer than normal, and try to grab a package deal of Teddy Bridgewater and a guy like Sam Bradford in the 8-9 round, and ride the hotter hand. Worst case, you find comparable waiver wire guys in most leagues, or look for the backup that takes over for an early injury. Best case, you’ve got a couple of guys who significantly outplay their draft position, which you can use at the trade deadline to get even more position player depth.

Sell: Andy

Let’s pump the brakes on the Bridgewater love for just a couple minutes. Don’t get me wrong – I think this guy could be a really solid QB for years to come. BUT… let’s remember –

• Mike Wallace is a solid deep threat, except when he’s quitting on his coaches and teammates and douching his way out of town.
• Charles Johnson looked very good during the latter half of 2014, but he was a seventh-round draft pick in Green Bay and a cut in Cleveland – yes, the Browns didn’t think they had room for Johnson, despite the absence of Josh Gordon.
• Cordarrelle Patterson is probably the most physically gifted wideout on the team, but to this point he’s either been too dumb or too preoccupied with partying – or both – to learn how to run a few basic routes and make himself a regular factor in the pass game.
• The tight end, Kyle Rudolph, has been equally as prevalent on the injury reports as on the stat sheets in recent years.
• Matt Kalil is coming off two bad seasons and surgeries on both of his knees in the offseason that he hopes can revive and save his career. If the procedures can’t, there is no backup plan, as last year’s emergency swing tackle Mike Harris is now penciled in at right guard.
• Speaking of which, both guards will be in new spots this year, as last year’s RG, Brandon Fusco, moves to the left side – and he’s coming off of an injury – and the LG will be … who the hell knows?
• Adrian Peterson is coming back. He’ll get his in the run game – and he’s not done all that well as a pass catcher or a pass blocker during his career, so those factors could hurt Teddy.

Now, all of these things are not to say that Teddy won’t be fine. Bridgewater has a great demeanor and by all accounts he’s truly dedicated to making himself the best player he can be. And if everything comes together, he should put up numbers well exceeding his ADP. But it’s no given – and I certainly wouldn’t go into a season without a solid backup plan in place.

Previous Buy/Sell: Le’Veon Bell

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