Another QB ranking raises questions about Vikings' Bridgewater

I promise I'm not here to pile on. I think, as many people do, that Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater is already an adequate NFL starter who has a chance to be an above-average starter — someone who could wind up being among the 8-12 best starters in the league. If he becomes that, and the Vikings' defense continues to evolve from very good into elite territory, they will be a force for years to come.

But there are also a lot of unknowns about Bridgewater heading into Year 3. Given the Vikings' aspirations and how he has played in his first two seasons — uneven at times, not statistically dazzling most of the time, but also winning a majority of the time — this is an important season for Bridgewater.

As such, it's instructive to look at how he is viewed by the rest of the league. Outside perceptions don't matter as much as what the Vikings think of Bridgewater and their level of belief in him — which by all accounts is quite high — but they are interesting. And they are particularly interesting when there are enough of them to form a consensus.

That brings us to an ESPN Insider piece ranking the starting QBs in the league. This is done in two ways — in five different tiers and also from 1-33 (the 49ers get two starters, both near the bottom). It was compiled by Mike Sando, who talked to 42 NFL insiders connected to teams. Here are the people they talked to and the methodology:

Ten general managers, five head coaches, seven offensive coordinators, five defensive coordinators, eight personnel evaluators and seven other position coaches/executives.

Tier 1: Can carry his team each week. Team wins because of him.
Tier 2: Can carry team sometimes but not as consistently.
Tier 3: Legit starter but needs heavy run game/defense to win.
Tier 4: Might not want this guy starting all 16 games.
Tier 5: Do not think this guy should be starting.

Each QB was given a number corresponding to a tier by all 42 evaluators, which formed both their overall tier and their place 1-33. So the numbers weren't scientific, but 42 respondents is a pretty good sample size in this case.

Bridgewater was ranked in Tier 3, and he was No. 23 overall (I had him No. 21 overall). His leadership was praised, as was his sneaky athleticism. Overall, though, the critique sounded familiar. Here were the assessments from various NFL coaches/personnel guys:

Voters respect Bridgewater the way they respect Alex Smith: as a smart player whose physical limitations could keep him straddling the line between the second and third tiers. … A veteran defensive coach called Bridgewater a check-down king. A personnel director questioned Bridgewater's accuracy and said Bridgewater would become a liability without Adrian Peterson in the backfield. Another director said he wondered whether the Vikings' frequent praising of Bridgewater amounted to the team trying to convince itself. But as the Vikings transition back to an indoor stadium, a GM said he thought Bridgewater could approach the second tier when protected from the harsh elements.

Again, this is nothing that hasn't been written or said before. And ultimately, as noted already, what the Vikings think carries far more weight. That said, how other teams perceive Bridgewater is indicative of how defenses will game-plan against the Vikings this season. And you could also argue that how he is viewed by other teams is reasonably objective.

Perhaps the most interesting — and potentially alarming — thing is that when these same rankings were done a year ago, Bridgewater also came in 23rd (tied, in that case, but still). Two other QBs from his draft class made a jump — Blake Bortles from 27th to 22nd and Derek Carr from a tie for 20th to 16th.

Bridgewater should make a similar jump, if not bigger, this year. But if he doesn't? That's when questions become worries.