2014 NFL mock draft: Vikings select Teddy Bridgewater

With the eighth pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Separateunion is serving as the Vikings' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

The Vikings need a QB in a bad way. The Christian Ponder experiment is over and Matt Cassel is nothing more than a temporary placeholder. The Vikings could also use some serious help at linebacker. Anthony Barr is a consideration here, but you don't succeed in the NFL without a QB who can make plays to win the game. Ultimately, this choice comes down to Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr.

Bridgewater is very football smart and probably the most polished pro-style QB in the draft, but his arm strength isn't anything special, he has streaky accuracy and his mechanics break down occasionally, even when he has time to throw. On the other hand, while Carr has a very strong arm (which would look great in a Norv Turner offense) and put up eye-popping stats, the college defenses he played against were weak and he struggled when facing a strong pass rush.

If I was making the pick, Bridgewater's intelligence and poise would win out over Carr's arm strength, but since Rick Spielman is making this call... oh wait, no he isn't. I am. With the eighth pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Vikings select Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater.

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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.