Image courtesy of Vikings.com
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has two new potential targets in German wide receiver Möritz Boehringer and UTSA tight end David Morgan II. General manager Rick Spielman focused on offense late in the draft, picking players with very unique skill sets and potential fits in Minnesota.
Boehringer is 6’4,” 229 pounds, and compares athletically to players like Andre Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson. When asked which receivers he hopes to mold his game after, Boehringer didn’t hesitate to pick two of the NFL’s best.
[quote_center]”A.J. Green and Julio Jones”[/quote_center]
Morgan, the first player every drafted from the University of Texas San Antonio, is excited to join a tight ends group that includes Kyle Rudolph, MyCole Pruitt, and Rhett Ellison. “Being able to play in a tight-end heavy offense, how they move a bunch of guys around, it’s going to be awesome,” he said. “I can bring a lot to the table for them.”
The Vikings had the 31st-ranked passing offense in 2015, though that should improve next season. Minnesota added offensive linemen Alex Boone and Andre Smith in free agency, then drafted Laquon Treadwell in the first round on Thursday. Spielman is making moves to help his quarterback, and that strategy continued in the sixth round on Saturday afternoon.
For Morgan, there’s an opportunity to step in and contribute if do-it-all tight end Ellison isn’t ready for the start of the season. Ellison, before his patellar tendon tear, lined up in the backfield, split wide as a wide receiver, and inline as a traditional tight end — all positions Morgan played throughout his four-year collegiate career.
“I was talking with Coach Turner, and he was just telling me, ‘Be ready to come in and start learning a couple different positions’,” Morgan remembers. “I can do a lot of different things. I feel like I’m going to create a lot of mismatches in different spots and that’s why I like the way I was used in college.”
The story is a little different for Boehringer, who didn’t begin playing professional football until 2013. Over the course of his three-year career in the National German Football League, Boehringer caught 164 passes for 4,327 yards and 57 touchdowns. The production is certainly there, but the Aaelen, Germany native says the Vikings still want to see more from him. What exactly?
“To improve my overall football knowledge because I think I’m lacking there,” he said. “Route running can always improve and press releases because I haven’t faced them in Germany.”
As a member of the Scwabisch Hall Unicorns in 2015, Boehringer was named the German Football League Rookie of the Year. His incredible output came against much smaller, less athletic competition, all while playing in an offensive system that had just “70 to 80” plays, according to Boehringer. In the NFL, offensive playbooks can have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 plays, making the German receiver’s learning curve that much steeper.
Whatever role Boehringer or Morgan play in 2016, their upside and athletic potential is an exciting proposition for Minnesota’s offense.
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I wish we would have grabbed Myles Jack, Billings, and Scooby Wright in their falls but other than that I love our draft. Treadwell is a good pick (although I would have preferred Jack) and these later ones are great
I am with you Skol, but we will not be disappointed at all if Tread does become the next Dez. Another big receiver on the field will help to open up Rudy. It would be fun if MoBo makes it. That big, that fast, and does catch the ball like a pro. Just has to learn to be more deceptive in his route running, which of course can be coached.