The curious case of Teddy Bridgewater

With less than one week until the start of the 2014 NFL draft, it appears that the status of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has come full circle.

After rolling over Miami (Fl) in the Russell Athletic Bowl in December, junior signal caller Teddy Bridgewater announced his intentions to turn pro. Analysts immediately put his name at the top of their draft boards. Teddy would surely be headed to Houston.

Then after the combine in Indy where Teddy did not compete in throwing drills (a common thing among many athletes there), followed by a pro day where many scouts said that Teddy was “underwhelming,” Bridgewater’s name started dropping.

Following his pro day, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayak went so far as to say “If I was a GM in the NFL, I would not take him in the first round of the draft.”

Afterwards, EVERYTHING about Bridgewater was called into question. His stance, his throwing motion, his release and even his hand size became an issue. Teddy had become the 3rd or 4th best QB on the board by many expert accounts.

Then, earlier this week, Sports Illustrated released their top prospects in their 2014 NFL Draft report and sitting squarely at number one overall was, you guessed it, Teddy Bridgewater. SI compared Teddy to Russell Wilson and went on to say that “…he could be the kind of quarterback that defines a franchise.”

Dane Bugler, senior analyst for nfldraftscout.com, released his final Top 100 Draft Board this morning and he also has Teddy sitting squarely at number one overall.

Teddy knows that his pro day left a lot to be desired but feels that three years of hard work on the field should far outweigh one workout, telling ESPN’s Trey Wingo, “Put on the game tape. The game tape speaks volumes because I’m in live action, I’m out there making reads, going through progressions, redirection protection, signaling hot routes, getting the offense in and out of the right play. Looking at those things, I think those things outweigh the Pro Day.”

I guess we’ll find out soon enough. The 2014 NFL Draft starts Thursday, May 8 and will be televised on the NFL Network at 8 p.m. eastern on Time Warner Cable Channels 547/926.