Just a few days from now we will be on the other side of the 2014 NFL Draft and won't be bombarded by terms like "knee bend," "slender frame," and, of course, "high motor" until the calendar turns to 2015. Until then, we still have a little bit more time to break down draft prospects ahead of Thursday night.
NFL Media analyst Charley Casserly jumped on "Path to the Draft" on Monday when the topic of Teddy Bridgewater came up. In his latest mock draft, Casserly was the latest in a long line of folks who kept Bridgewater out of the first round, partly because of what he's been hearing but also because of what he's seen on tape.
"When I watch him play, I see a lot of positives, mainly field-vision and knowing where to go with the football," Casserly said. "I don't see a lot of special throws with him. That's what you want to see an NFL quarterback separate himself from. With [Blake] Bortles, you see some of those throws out of him. Even [Johnny] Manziel you see some throws.
"I think the guy is probably going to go in the second round unless somebody wants to trade up at the end of the first."
Bridgewater's journey to New York City has been well chronicled as he's gone from a possible No. 1 overall pick to someone who might go as low as the second round. While a number of folks trace the downfall to his uninspiring -- some would even say bad -- pro day, most agree he has one of the more impressive tapes among the top-tier quarterbacks.
That's why it's a little interesting to hear Casserly bring up a lack of special throws. Bridgewater is certainly no Manziel when it comes to jaw-dropping plays, nor does he look like the prototypical drop-back passer, as Bortles does. But if you ask any Louisville fan out there you'll quickly learn he certainly made a few special throws over the past few seasons.
Case in point: this borderline crazy sidearm throw he made for a touchdown against Cincinnati in December. He also had this beautiful toss in the bowl game against Miami.
And let's not forget what he did to Florida in the Sugar Bowl:
Who knows where Bridgewater ends up going in the draft or what kind of NFL career career he has. One thing we do know is that judging football talent is in the eye of the beholder, and all it takes is one team to fall in love with somebody like Bridgewater to draft him.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
