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"I've seen a lot of Teddy. I don't have him in [Andrew] Luck's class as a prospect," one veteran NFC scout told SI.com.
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When asked to compare Bridgewater to recent No. 1 picks at the quarterback position, the scout wasn't sold on how Bridgewater stacks up.
"I think when you look at a guy like Sam Bradford, he was damn good in college. I loved that guy. He was pinpoint accurate, with ball placement, timing, arm strength. He had all those areas [better than Bridgewater]. "
It's important to remember that how a player projects as a prospect doesn't preclude him from outperforming that grade as a pro. Just look at Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.
Bradford has underwhelmed as an NFL player, but remember, the former Oklahoma standout was an elite prospect entering the draft. In fact, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers team operations coordinator Joe Bussell believes Bradford is the closest comparable recent quarterback to Bridgewater.
"I think a good comparison -- and one that might scare people away -- is Sam Bradford. Bradford's mediocre production in the NFL will frighten some, but if you remove access to those results, Bradford is one of the most highly-touted quarterbacks ever, coming out of the 2010 draft," Bussell explained.
"He received high grades in accuracy, congruent with what I see in Bridgewater. While, [Matthew] Stafford was one of those QBs that [needed] a couple years to grow in the NFL as we've seen, Bridgewater is the type [that] can come in and start immediately, while making minimal mistakes as he learns on the job."
It was clear, speaking with NFL evaluators current and former, that Bridgewater isn't in the tier of players like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, or even Matthew Stafford in terms of pure physical ability and talent. But that doesn't take the shine off his potential star in the NFL.
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