6 worst Minnesota Vikings first-round picks of the last decade

Teddy Bridgewater – QB (2014)

The Vikings moved back into the first round to grab Teddy Bridgewater in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was seen as the team’s long term solution at quarterback. Bridgewater quickly became a fan favorite and surely, there will be some gripes that he’s even included on this list.

His career with Minnesota was cut short due to a devastating knee injury. But before that, his stats weren’t all that impressive.

Bridgewater took over the starting job for the Vikings a few games into his rookie season. He was wildly inconsistent as he would often overthrow open targets on one series, but then on the next, complete just about every passing attempt he made.

He was fun to watch because he could make plays with his legs and he often did this to extend drives. Bridgewater finished his rookie season with an 85.2 quarterback rating.

He started every game for Minnesota during the following season and he was pretty much the same. He looked good one week and then not so much the next.

He did help lead the team to an 11-5 record and a spot in the playoffs that year. But again, his quarterback rating in 2015 was right around average at 88.7.

Bridgewater’s career with the Vikings then came to an unexpected and tragic end in 2016. He suffered a severe knee injury during a summer practice and it resulted in him having to miss the entire 2016 season.

His injury ended up forcing Minnesota to scramble and give up a first-round pick to get Sam Bradford to be their new starting quarterback.

Bridgewater was able to return to the field in 2017 and he even played in a few offensive series before his tenure with the Vikings came to an end.

Bridgewater finished his career in Minnesota with 6,150 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions. His career in purple was cut short and while it may be unfair to include him here, his overall stats were not worthy of being chosen in the first round.