INSCMagazine: Get Social!

The Minnesota Vikings have found their new quarterback. Less than a week removed from the loss of Teddy Bridgwater, Minnesota made a trade with Philadelphia to acquire Sam Bradford. It’s a risky move, especially for a QB that has a history of injuries. But the bigger question is how this will affect the Vikings wide receivers.

Let’s take a look at Teddy Bridgwater’s numbers from last season. Over the course of the year, Bridgewater recorded 3,231 passing yards. It’s a modest total considering the other passing totals from the 2015 season. Despite his lower than average yardage, Bridgewater still found opportunities to find his wife receivers. Stefon Diggs had a breakthrough year for the team, and was instrumental in Bridgwater’s second year growth.

Now, we must look at Sam Bradford. The former first overall pick has shown glimpses of great play over his career. But as previously mentioned he’s quite the injury risk. 2015 saw him throw for a career high 3,725 yards, doing so with a below average receiving core. Jordan Matthews was the alpha dog, but he couldn’t be trusted due to some issues holding onto the football.

With the Vikings, Bradford will once again be supported by a young wide receiver in Diggs, who was having a stellar preseason. But Bradford isn’t really that much better than Bridgewater. Both of the QB’s share a similar 65 percent completion percentage, and Bradford only beat out Bridgewater by approximately 500 passing yards.

Just like Philadelphia, Bradford will also find the Vikings receiving core to be thin. The Eagles primarily used Jordan Matthews as their main WR. The Vikings featured Diggs frequently in the offense once he found his footing in the NFL. Minnesota only has last season’s disappointment receiver Charles Johnson, and rookie Laquon Treadwell at their disposal. Bradford also doesn’t have Zach Ertz to throw to anymore. The Vikings Tight end is Kyle Rudolph, a rather underwhelming option.

It’s going to take some time for Bradford to develop chemistry with the Vikings WR core. The Vikings got a player that can put up similar statistics to Bridgwater. Of course, it’s puzzling they gave up so much to acquire his services, but if Bradford is healthy the Vikings could find themselves in the playoffs.

Follow Daniel James Gentile on twitter @dgentleman9288