Vikings: Moritz Böhringer’s path goes through special teams
By Josh Zinger
Moritz Böhringer has been improving every day in training camp, but for a chance of making the Vikings roster he will need to excel on special teams.
When the Vikings drafted Moritz Böhringer in the sixth round it came as a surprise to many. The German native is big, strong, and fast, but had very little experience or technical refinement, and had never played against anything resembling NFL competition.
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However, after only a few days of training camp, Böhringer has been performing better than expected. Despite his inexperience, Böhringer’s route running ability has been surprisingly good. While it’s still very basic and not quite up to par with an NFL receiver, his ability to get open has been much further ahead than expected.
Against the second and third teams, Böhringer has been getting open frequently. In Wednesday’s practice, Böhringer ran a fade along the sideline and adjusted for a nice back shoulder reception in between Tre Roberson and Anthony Harris, and that was not the only time he’s made a play.
However, getting open against the backups hardly means Böhringer is ready for the NFL. Böhringer still looks a little stiff and mechanical in many of his movements, and catching the ball has been a problem so far. While it’s likely only due to concentration lapses and over thinking, Böhringer has dropped a number of passes through the first several days of training camp.
He may be far ahead of schedule, but Moritz Böhringer is nowhere near ready to contribute as a receiver.
That doesn’t mean he can’t contribute at all, however.
When asked about Böhringer, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer gushed about the rookie’s tantalizing potential.
"“He is obviously a gunner, like you’ve seen him out there. He can be a halfback on our kickoff return team because he can block, he’s strong, he’s smart. He can return the ball if they kick it to him, if they mishit the ball. He can play a little bit on punt return as an outside hold-up guy or rushing off the edge or even holding up a wing. We can do a lot of things with him and he’s come a long way since the spring.”"
For Böhringer to have any chance of making the roster in a crowded receiver group, it will be key for him to embrace those roles and continue to improve. He’ll be given a lot of leeway as a receiver, but Böhringer will have to continue to show an immediate aptitude for special teams.
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Böhringer still looks like a longshot to make the final roster, but if he can continue to improve on offense while excelling in every phase of special teams, there’s a chance he can carve out a role for himself. After all, it only takes one trade or injury for a spot to become wide open.
When asked if Böhringer would make the roster, Priefer would only say that “he’s gonna get an opportunity to make the roster just like everybody else.”
It’s up to Böhringer to make the most of that opportunity, and that all starts with special teams.
Next: Training camp: Day 5 stock report
Josh Zinger will be in Mankato covering camp until the 6th, so follow him on twitter for live updates and observations from practice, and look for his stock reports at the end of each day and be sure to Follow @jzingz on Twitter.