Teddy Bridgewater has been taking shots from the media this entire off-season. Bridgewater began his junior season regarded by most as the top college QB in the country without any clear competition. All he did during his junior season was put up his best statistical year yet while leading his team to a 12-1 record (the team's best record in 30 years). You would think Bridgewater's performance this past season would solidify his position as this year's top quarterback. But after Bridgewater's highly criticized pro day performance, it seems like ESPN and NFL Network are determined to knock him down a few notches. But luckily for Mr. Bridgewater, there are still a lot of us who care more about his performance during the actual football season than his performance during the Underwear Olympics (also known as the NFL Scouting Combine) and his pro day. Teddy Bridgewater is still the best quarterback in this draft class and it's not close.
Teddy Bridgewater played in 39 games during his three year career at Louisville. During that time he passed for 9,817 yards, 72 TDs, 24 INTs, with a 68.4% completion percentage. In his final season at Louisville, Bridgewater passed for 3,970 yards, 31 TDs, and 4 INTs, while completing 71.0% of his passes. Bridewater had his best statistical year by far in his final season. His TD/INT ratio of 7.75 to 1 was the best of all my top 10 QBs. Bridgewater's most noteable performance of his junior season came against Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Bridgewater went 35 for 45 for 447 yards, with 3 TDs and no interceptions.
Strengths:
Decision Making/Timing Routes- The most impressive facet of Bridgewater's game is his ability to get through his progression quickly. He not only makes the correct decision, he makes it quickly. On the majority of Bridgewater's drop-backs, he'll hit the last step in the drop, set and fire the ball. This is a testament to Bridgewater's mastery of Louisville's offense and his ability to make a good pre-snap read. Watch the video below and pay attention to how quickly the ball comes out of Bridgewater's hands after he reaches the top of his drop.
Footwork/Pocket Presence- Bridgewater has the best footwork in this draft class by a wide margin. His footwork is precise and deliberate. He gets away from the line quickly, gets a lot of depth, and when he reaches the top of his drop the ball comes out. If there isn't an open receiver, Bridgewater will climb the pocket and wait for a receiver to come open. Most QBs have a tendency to sit at the top of the pocket which makes the job of the left and right tackle a lot more difficult. Offensive tackles expect their QB to step up into the pocket. When an edge rusher tries to use an outside speed rush, tackles are taught to push the rusher past the QB. When the QB sits at the top of the pocket, the tackle may end up pushing the pass rusher directly into the QB. Climbing the pocket also gets the QB's momentum moving forward which adds velocity to the throw and reduces the distance that the ball has to travel. The plays in the video below all illustrate how comfortable Bridgewater is operating inside of the pocket.
Eye Control- Bridgewater understands how to use his eyes to manipulate the defense. He routinely uses his eyes to move safeties and linebackers. This is an extremely important tool to have at the pro level. You can see examples of this in the video below.
Touch- Teddy has great touch. He's not quite on the level of Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo but he can drop the ball in when he needs to.
Weaknesses:
Deep Ball Accuracy- This is the only area of Bridgewater's game that really concerns me. He hasn't shown the type of chemistry with his receivers down the field that you would like to see out of a top QB prospect. Ryan Tanehill exhibited the same inability during college and it has continued to be an issue for him as pro. Teams will have to take a closer look at this in private workouts to determine whether or not they think this can be fixed.
Ball Security- Much like Manziel, Bridgewater has a tendency to hold the ball with one hand when he starts to scramble. Luckily Bridgewater doesn't scramble nearly as much as Manziel. This isn't a huge issue because Bridgewater keeps two hands on the ball whenever he's in the pocket. But it's something teams should keep an eye out for.
Overview:
Teddy Bridgewater is the best QB in this draft class, right now. His football IQ and work ethic are his biggest assets. He doesn't have prototypical size or arm strength but he more than makes up for these deficiencies with the strengths that I just mentioned. Derek Carr has the most upside of any QB in the 2014 class but Bridgewater is the most pro-ready. I think Bridgewater will be able to step in and start immediately.
Draft Projection- 1st Overall. Let me point out that this is where I think Bridgewater should be selected. With the way that things are going, I think Teddy will come off of the board between pick 5 and pick 8. But if the Texans do pass on Teddy Bridgewater for Blake Bortles, they will be regretting it for quite some time.
That's all for now. I'm thinking that I'll move on to profiling some receivers next but we'll see what happens.
And thanks again to everyone at draftbreakdown.com for all of the work you guys to compiling prospect video.
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