Vikings wide receiver Moritz Boehringer is already a trailblazer, he’s quickly becoming a celebrity, but on Friday he began his newest job – an NFL football player.
Boehringer, a sixth round draft pick, has been the talk of the Vikings draft class so far, and why not? He’s a great story. He’s a 22-year-old native of Aalen, Germany, who first learned about American football by watching YouTube highlights of Adrian Peterson.
Now, he’s Peterson’s teammate, but Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was clear on Friday that it’s time for Boehringer to get to work.
Zimmer on Moritz Boehringer arriving to #Vikings facilities: 'The feel-good story is over. Time to work.'
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) May 6, 2016
“I want to kind of end the story, to be honest with you,” Zimmer told reporters Friday. “I want him here playing football, not being a celebrity. I’ve given him a hard time already about being on TV shows and stuff like that. So, it’s football now and it’s time to work. The feel-good story is over.”
Boehringer has the measurements to be an outstanding NFL receiver. He pairs a 6-foot-4, 227-pound frame with a 4.43 time in the 40. He was drawing quite a bit of interest so the Vikings used their 6th round pick on him.
“My ultimate goal is to be the Dirk Nowitzki of the NFL, but it’s a process,” Boehringer told the Pioneer Press Monday. “I’ve got to make the team (first).”
He was the first Vikings draft pick to sign a contract, agreeing to a four-year, $2.49 million deal. He participated in the Vikings rookie-minicamp on Friday.
So now it’s time to get to work, and it will be up to Zimmer, offensive coordinator Norv Turner and others to help mold him.
