Pro Football Focus Says Bridgewater was 4th Best Rookie

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According to Pro Football Focus, only three players selected in the 2014 NFL draft had better seasons than Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. None of which were quarterbacks. This means Vikings fans should be very happy about Bridgewater’s bad pro-day performance, because it dropped him from a likely top-10 pick to the first round bubble. Now that his 2014 campaign has concluded, it is the majority opinion that he was likely requisite of a top-10 pick. The Vikings took Anthony Barr with the 9th pick.

The three players ranked ahead of Teddy are offensive guards Zack Martin (Dallas) and Joel Bitonio (Cleveland) and wide receiver Odell Beckham JR (Giants), who took the top spot. That should come as no surprise to anyone who watched Beckham at all this season. He finished with 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games.

In regards to Bridgewater, here is what Pro Football Focus had to say:

"After a typically slow start to his rookie season, Bridgewater showed great improvement in the second half, finishing at +11.0 over his last five games to lead all NFL quarterbacks. Perhaps it’s an arbitrary timeframe, but for a rookie quarterback, it’s an encouraging sign of improvement after the typical early-season growing pains.Bridgewater did his best work at the intermediate level where he graded at +13.3 while sprinkling in a few deep passes to the tune of a 46.3 percent accuracy percentage that ranked 10th in the league. Perhaps most impressive was his league-leading 75.2 percent accuracy percentage under pressure, though his -1.9 grade when pressured is probably a better indicator of his performance in those situations. Regardless, a low negative grade under pressure is actually pretty good when compared to the rest of the league.Despite throwing 12 interceptions, Bridgewater was one of the league’s best at protecting the football. Rather than look at interception totals, we like to focus on the actual throws that he made rather than the results, and when looking through that lens, Bridgewater was among the league’s best at avoiding “turnover-worthy plays,” ranking among the likes of Alex Smith, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger. Combine that with the improvement he showed as the season progressed and Vikings fans have to encouraged by Bridgewater’s future."

So said Mike Zimmer himself, this franchise belongs to Bridgewater. A nice final stretch of games culminating in a victory to end the season had everyone feeling good around Winter Park, including the head coach.

“The fans have been great with me here. I think it gives them some hope,” Zimmer said. “I think the way Bridgewater played gives them some hope. Hopefully they’ve liked how we compete. We’re definitely not perfect. We’ve got a long way to go, but there’s some good positives to take out of things.”

It’s still early, but it looks like the Vikings might have found a steal at the most important position.

Next: Poll: Which Position Should the Vikings Pick?

Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) smiles after the game against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings win 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

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