Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t been given the keys to the Vikings’ offense just yet, but the fact that he’s already been granted some first-team reps at Minnesota’s upcoming organized team activities is a potential sign of things to come.
ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha thinks highly of Bridgewater, so much so that he’s already convinced Bridgewater will have a better pro career than fellow first-round quarterback selections Blake Bortles, who went third overall to the Jaguars, and Johnny Manziel, who was taken by the Browns with the No. 22 pick.
Does that mean Bridgewater has a chance to be a star? Not necessarily, but Chadiha believes he’s the safest bet because of the solid group of players already in place around him.
Adrian Peterson just so happens to be really good at football. So are the likes of Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Rudolph and the offensive line made up of core starters Matt Kalil, John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt. Bortles and Manziel are surrounded by a lot more mediocrity in Jacksonville and Cleveland.
And then there is the relationship Bridgewater will develop with Turner, who Chadiha says, is a huge difference-maker for quarterbacks.
New offensive coordinator Norv Turner has spent decades teaching young quarterbacks how to play this position at the highest possible level. He’ll likely do the same for a young man as gifted as Bridgewater.
As much as Turner has been knocked for being a disappointing head coach, he’s still the man who helped shape Troy Aikman into a Hall of Fame passer with the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1990s. He also was running the San Diego Chargers when Philip Rivers blossomed into a perennial Pro Bowl quarterback for that franchise.
According to Bleacher Report, Rivers and the Chargers finished with a scoring offense ranked fifth or better from 2007-2011. 2012 was a bust year for Turner and the Chargers, but he responded last season by helping Cleveland turn troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon into the NFL’s leading receiver.
The value Minnesota got with Bridgewater, who was once considered a potential No. 1 overall pick, is discussed further here on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio.
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