Vikings “Impressed” with Teddy Bridgewater’s Rookie Camp

When you draft a quarterback in the first round, there’s usually two routes you can take. You can insist he’s just another rookie and needs to be treated as such.

Or, in other words, lie. On the other hand, you could go the Vikings route so far, and just be honest.

Teddy Bridgewater is the Vikings quarterback of the future, just like Johnny Manziel is in Cleveland. The Vikings are just the only team willing to admit it.

The Vikings were “very impressed” with their new quarterback after rookie minicamp, according to Dan Pompei of Sports on Earth and Bleacher Report.

“The quarterback threw with accuracy and zip, and most importantly he played with poise,” Pompei wrote. “It was especially evident in the blitz drills, as Bridgewater completed a high percentage of his throws against extra pass rushers.”

So, it’s clear that the Vikings are not experiencing buyers’ remorse yet after spending the No. 32 overall pick on Bridgewater. At the same time, completing passes against blitzers who aren’t even in pads doesn’t exactly show Bridgewater’s mettle.

When it comes to May reports like this, just remember that it’s, well, May. If Bridgewater hadn’t competed well that would have made for a much bigger headline.

The Vikings know this too, and according to Pompei they have made no alterations to their plans for this season based on Bridgewater’s rookie camp. The plan is still to have Matt Cassel start week one for the Vikings this year and have Bridgewater learn for a while, unless “Cassel falls on his face or Bridgewater tears it up,” according to Pompei.

While it means very little that Bridgewater had a good rookie camp in the long run, at least the Vikings aren’t being shy about their feelings for their future quarterback, even saying he would get some first team reps at OTAs.

After months of being torn down by draft analysts, Bridgewater must feel good about finally getting some positive media attention.