clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

QB Rankings: Getting to know the 2014 QB Draft Class: Teddy Bridgewater

The 2014 NFL draft should feature one of the most loaded QB groups college football has delivered to the NFL in a long time. For the first two rounds of the draft QB's of every flavor from traditional pocket passers to dynamic read-option field generals litter the football landscape. At Dawgs By Nature, we're going to begin evaluating these talents as to work ourselves into a proper lather so that our readers can be disappointed properly when the Browns spend the pick on a safety, guard, or wide receiver.

By Josh Finney
Andy Lyons

Introducing prospect number one, in no particular order....

1. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville

6’3, 205ish

Teddy Bridgewater is the model of a blue chip quarterbacking prospect. He has punished defenses at every level that he’s played on, and possesses all of the prototypical NFL traits: size, field vision, arm speed, and mobility in the pocket. Despite having the speed to scramble when the pocket collapses, Bridgewater tends to survey the field and make plays with his arm instead of his feet.

Bridgewater was originally ticketed for the University of Miami after getting spurned by LSU, but changed his commitment when the coach was fired to head to Louisville. His professional development has been excellent, but his only problem may be that by attending UL, he has not had the same chance to perform on the national stage that he may have at a bigger program. Scouts will see the easy release and spin he puts on his passes and be forget all about that, however.

QB's setting their feet and throwing accurately before a big hit is a difficult skill to teach supremely athletic young men, and Bridgewater seems to have made a point of honing this part of his craft. Bridgewater is currently a junior that made all of the right moves in his sophomore season. His signature win last season was in the UL bowl game against a VERY talented Florida squad that prided itself on defense. Flroida ended the season 5th in the NATION in total defense, and Teddy absolutely eviscerated them defense. (going 20/32 for 266 yds (62.5%) and 2 TD passes) The stats can sometimes be deceiving, but the film is not.

Teddy's stats, to date.

Passing Passing Passing Passing Passing Passing Passing Passing Passing
Year Class Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
2011 FR 191 296 64.5 2129 7.2 6.3 14 12 132.4
2012 SO 287 419 68.5 3718 8.9 9.3 27 8 160.5
2013 JR 245 345 71 3268 9.5 10.5 25 3 172.8
Career 723 1060 68.2 9115 8.6 8.9 66 23

156.6

The exciting part of Bridgewater’s future is that he has room to grow into a more capable player. Every year of high school and college has seen a significant improvement in his game, with his current season offering no deviations from the trend. Even in losses, TB is composed and calm and exhibits the leadership you want to see from the field general. Bridgewater has some eye-popping numbers on 3rd and 4th downs.

3rd Down 11 100 66 66.0 928 11 1 178.25 40 53 23 10
3rd Down, 1-3 To Go 10 21 15 71.4 195 3 0 196.57 39 13 6 2
3rd Down, 4-6 To Go 7 24 21 87.5 327 6 0 284.45 40 20 8 4
3rd Down, 7-9 To Go 9 19 10 52.6 159 1 0 140.29 33 10 4 2
3rd Down, 10+ To Go 10 36 20 55.6 247 1 1 116.80 31 10 5 2












(Stats provided by cfbstats.com)


Look for Teddy to put on some serious pounds in the offseason (expect 15-20 by combine time on his long frame) and to produce eye-popping combine numbers. (Remember when Andrew Luck put up a 4.66 on his 40 yard dash and destroyed his expected results in the long jump? Buckle up)

The best career comp for Bridgewater is probably Andrew Luck. It’s difficult to compare him to the quarterbacks of the last two years because he’s both tall AND mobile, yet can’t be considered a running quarterback. He has the speed and athleticism to make plays when required but will only utilize it as a last resort. Aaron Rodgers is another good comparison, but Bridgewater is slightly bigger and faster than Rodgers at this stage of his career. This type of quarterback is incredibly attractive to NFL scouts, as evidenced by the numerous (4 to 5) athletic quarterbacks with high grades in this draft. Rob Chudzinski has found success in Carolina using Cam Newton's speed and arm strength and would love to have a dynamic talent like Teddy under center.

How the Browns would acquire Bridgewater: At this juncture Bridgewater looks sure to be selected in the first 3 picks of the 2014 draft. In order to acquire his talents, the Browns would need to jump into the first few picks, potentially with a trade of future assets. The amount of top tier QB talent available, combined with potential trade partners who wouldn't necessarily be seeking a QB, will determine the trade value required to get Teddy Bridgewater to Cleveland.

Likelihood of happening: Slim to Low

Up next: Marcus Mariota, University of Oregon

More From Dawgs By Nature