Talk now is that QB Teddy Bridgewater could fall to 2nd roundBy Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.comApril 17, 2014 4:30 pm ET
(USATSI) As a junior at Louisville, Teddy Bridgewater completed 71 percent of his passes for 3,970 yards, 31 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Back in January, he was widely considered the the best draft-eligible quarterback, and maybe even the best draft-eligble player.Now, after a disappointing pro day for Bridgewater and way too much time for the rest of us to think about what that means, we're talking about him as a second-round pick. Even NFL Network's Mike Mayock, one of the most respected draft experts around, dropped Bridgewater from No. 1 in his QB rankings from early March to No. 3 following Bridgewater's pro day (even though Mayock emphasizes all the time that pro days aren't the end-all, be-all evaluation tool).
And ESPN's Mel Kiper has taken it a step further. In his previous mock draft, Kiper had Bridgewater going No. 5 to the Raiders. Now? Bridgewater falls to ... No. 33.
So what does it mean?It's impossible to say, primarily because NFL teams can't be trusted this time of year, when misinformation. obfuscation and subterfuge are the names of the game, and we're left to decipher what, if anything, it all means.Maybe Bridgewater will fall to the second round. But we can't imagine it will be because of a mediocre pro day. (By the way, if that is the group-think mentality on Bridgewater, some team, immune to the madness, will draft him in the first round and probably be happy they did. We're looking at you, Cincinnati.)For what it's worth, CBSSports.com's Rob Rang still has Bridgewater as the top quarterback on his big board and the sixth-best player overall."There is no sense sugarcoating it, Bridgewater was disappointing during his March 17 pro day, showing less zip and accuracy than in any game I've seen over his three seasons as a starter for the Cardinals," Rang wrote this week. ..."A case of nerves with an estimated 100 scouts in attendance isn't enough to drop him from my top spot among quarterbacks, especially given that Bridgewater previously impressed with his poise and accuracy during big games. Due to his accuracy and success in a pro-style scheme that asked him to come to the line of scrimmage with multiple plays and pick the correct one based on the defense, I believe Bridgewater to be the most pro-ready quarterback of the class."That said, Rang, based on what he thinks NFL teams will do, has Blake Bortles (No. 1 to Houston), Johnny Manziel (No. 4 to Cleveland) and Derek Carr (No. 8 to Minnesota) going before Bridgewater in his latest mock draft. In fact, Bridgewater doesn't hear his name called until -- you guessed it -- the second round when the Rams finally summon him from the Aaron Rodgers memorial green room with the 37th pick.Make of this what you will but just know this: opinions on Bridgewater (and most other players) could swing wildly in any direction as the draft draws closer.
