Teddy Bridgewater: Is the young man a franchise quarterback?

So far, Teddy Bridgewater has found success with the Minnesota Vikings, but does that speak to the merits of the young quarterback or the team as a whole?

The world of sports is a weird place. It seems like every day people are comparing one athlete to another or trying to rank them against their peers. The NFL is no exception, with the quarterback position perhaps the most scrutinized of all.

Related Story: Bridgewater to appear on Celebrity Family Feud

Not only that but these players at the same position even get grouped together, typically by draft class or division. For example, an article recently ran on Pro Football Talk discussing which quarterback from the 2012 NFL Draft class would be the next to get a massive payday. While there are some fantastic young passers in that class, the article took a weird turn when comparing the three.

Rather than basing the decision on who would get paid next on their statistics or team achievements, writer Mike Florio instead moved over to whether or not each quarterback was the “nine letter F word”. Of course, he means “franchise” quarterback.

Florio had no problems talking about two other quarterbacks from the draft class with that word, but hesitated to talk about Bridgewater that way. Here is what he said:

"“Bortles and Carr are closer to getting the nine-letter “F” word attached to their names, with Bridgewater possibly joining them based on what he accomplishes this year. All three will be eligible for new contracts after the coming season.”"

So, that brings up an interesting question. Just what is a franchise quarterback? For some, it’s a passer that puts up amazing yardage and throws a lot of touchdowns. For others, it’s a guy that puts his team in the best position to win games. In other cases, it is based on the team’s overall success.

More from The Viking Age

• 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
• Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
• Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
• 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
• Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022

But why is Bridgewater spoken less highly of than Bortles or Carr? Is it because he is in an offense focused around the run game? Is it because he doesn’t throw the ball a high number of times? Is it because he doesn’t take a lot of chances when he does throw the ball?

Interestingly enough, Bridgewater is mostly criticized for lack of statistical output. However, there are other statistics where he outshines the other quarterbacks in his draft class, such as completion percentage and interception percentage. Not to mention, the most important statistic of all, team wins.

While Bridgewater may not be in line for a big payday based on his yardage totals or number of touchdowns, what he does for the Minnesota Vikings is very important. Sadly, until he puts up big fantasy numbers or makes big yardage plays on a regular basis that end up on the highlight reel, his name will never come up in discussions when it comes to the nine-letter “F” word.

Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview

However, I’m sure that’s fine with Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota Vikings. Fans and talking heads may never stop saying he’s a game-manager or average quarterback. And yes, he does have several areas of his game in which he could improve upon. But as long as it translates into wins on the football field, Vikings fans should be alright with the guy behind center for Minnesota.