In case you missed today's newspaper, I took a look at Vikings rookie Teddy Bridgewater through eight games and compared him to the other notable quarterbacks from the 2014 draft class.
One of the people I spoke with for the story is former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah, who is a rising star over at NFL Network. Jeremiah is a great resource for all things NFL draft, but I especially wanted to track him down because he recently did a piece evaluating all of the rookie QBs.
In that piece, he graded Bridgewater as the best of the bunch so far, ahead of Jacksonville's Blake Bortles, Oakland's David Carr, Tennessee's Zach Mettenberger and Cleveland's Johnny Manziel.
But Jeremiah has gotten flak for comparing him to Kansas City's veteran starter, Alex Smith.
"I use that Alex Smith comparison because that have similar builds, they're both very, very bright guys, they're both poised, they're both able to make plays with their legs and they've always kind of been winners," said Jeremiah, who was once a college quarterback at Appalachian State. "That's why I kind of thought I was complimenting him, but some people didn't take it as such."
While some Vikings fans on Twitter bristled at Jeremiah's comparison, Jeremiah said that he received a text message from one executive from an NFL team who said he nailed the comparison. He said another executive told him that he figured the Vikings would be pleased if Bridgewater is able to have the kind of career that Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick, has had in recent years.
It took a few years from Smith to find his footing with the 49ers, but he had a 19-5-1 record in his final two seasons there. And he is 18-9 in two seasons after the Chiefs acquired him in a trade.
Jeremiah isn't sure if Bridgewater will be able to develop into a perennial Pro Bowl-type passer, but he thinks he can become the kind of steady starter that a well-constructed team is built around.
