There’s been a lot of talk about the Vikings selecting a wide receiver in the first round of the 2016 draft, with most reports pointing to TCU wideout Josh Doctson. But a recent report has linked the team to a different big, fast pass catching prospect—a player considerably less familiar to NFL fans and one that could be scooped up in the later rounds.
According to NFL.com, Moritz Boehringer is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and runs a 4.39-second 40-yard dash. He also has a 37-inch vertical. And Vikings officials met with him last Wednesday. The catch? He’s only played football for four years, and those four years have been in Germany.
Boehringer spent last season with the Schwaebisch Hall Unicorns of the German Football League, but is eligible for the 2016 NFL Draft and, according to NFL.com, is one of the biggest sleepers this year. If you look at the highlight video at the top of this article, it’s obvious the competition isn’t up to American college standards…or perhaps even high school standards…but Boehringer’s talent is apparent. City Pages reports the Vikings were hoping to sign Boehringer as an undrafted free agent, but more NFL teams are noticing; the Packers, Broncos, and Cardinals have also shown interest already. Boehringer worked out with Florida International prospects at the school’s pro day last Thursday, and it’s unclear how many teams were in attendance.
In Germany’s premier football league, Boehringer was named rookie of the year in 2015, catching 70 passes for 1,461 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Less than a year after the Babatunde Aiyegbusi experiment came to a close, the Vikings are again kicking the tires on a raw, foreign prospect. At this point, it’s still most likely that Boehringer will be available as an undrafted free agent, but a team could get excited and take a late-round flier on him come draft time. With the Vikings obvious need at wide receiver, it will be interesting to see if they make a play for him; no matter his level of experience, those measurables don’t come around very often, and acquiring Boehringer will almost certainly come with very little risk.
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I would consider using a 6th round pick on him assuming the Vikings have a good feel for him. At the end of the day, he has great measurables, is known as a hands catcher, and appeared to take well to the little amount of NFL coaching at the pro day. Yes he will take time to develop, but the Vikings had CJ12 inactive for most of last season so it wouldn't be unheard of.
No need to use a pick. The GFL is on the same level as NAIA football at best. During the NFL Europe days guys would stay over there (Germany) after the season ended to make a little extra money playing in the GFL. Very little talent to play against but pretty good money to be made. Only 2 A's (Americans) allowed on the field at a time. Kid definitely hasn't played against anyone with the kind of talent he will see in any NFL Camp. Not saying the kid doesn't deserve a chance but definitely no need to use a draft pick on him. Invite him to camp and lets see how he does. I don't think he would make it past the first cut. Best of luck to him though.
maybe 6 or 7th
jerry jones would never do that way to far out there
a name to watch Darren lee olb if he is their the argument josh Dotson or him
I was thinking 6th rounder before watching the video, but the highlights were very anti-climatic. I didn't see anything that amazed me about him other than his size. It looked like an adult athlete playing with the local high school. Every play had him catching the ball against soft and undisciplined coverage. He only ran a couple of different routes, and they weren't very crisp. He wasn't avoiding tackles nearly so much as poor defensive technique and the limitation of boys trying to take down a man was allowing him to slip through the contact.
I wouldn't mind Spielman spending a 7th rounder on him if he believes the kid is coachable and every need on the team has been addressed. Competition in the Pros is going to be insanely better than anything he faced in those highlights, so I have plenty of doubts about his NFL ability.
I have doubts about turtles.
Those highlights don't show me that much. I was impressed by his speed but he wouldn't be able to run away from NFL DBs like that. I'd consider taking him in the 7th round because of his size and insane workout numbers, but I definitely want someone in one of the first 2 rounds regardless.
I just watched those highlights again because I'm legitimately interested in this guy. Another thing that bothers me about those clips is the inconsistency coming out of his breaks. On some of those plays, he explodes out of his cut and leaves his defender in the dust. But other times, he looks slow at the back end of the route. That wouldn't fly in the NFL either. Maybe I'm nitpicking though. Problems like that could potentially be fixed with experience and coaching
Random thoughts: 1. What would Cordarrelle Patterson look like catching screens against these nobodys? 2. Duron Carter is available (again) and he has proven he can do it vs CFL talent. 3. As long as we are playing roll the dice, there is serious risk/reward out there but the name of Josh Gordon. 4. 6th and 7th round picks rarely make a lasting impact on NFL rosters, so I guess I agree with everyone that he is a interesting late round pick with practice squad potential.
Don't think you can claim he's a guy no one is talking about... Probably the worst kept secret in draft circles! While the jury is still out on his ability to translate his game to the NFL level, I anticipate he'll be drafted a lot higher than people are expecting. I can see a lot of WR and offensive coaches putting a 'red star' next to this guy and believing that they can turn him into a stud. I really don't think he'll be there when the Vikings pick in the 5th round, and possibly not even the 4th.
Hell, I'd take a flyer on him in the fourth round. I liked his size, speed and hands, and the way he found holes in zone coverage. I wasn't so impressed with his twitch, either to get separation or to catch screen and flat passes, but his burst after the catch seems to be okay.
JAYLAN SMITH....
funny, u guys acting like u know everything but hes more polish than most wr in the draft, not a single scout or coaches say hes raw. if you watch josh doctson against texas and minnesota, his route running ability is not as good as this guy. id take moritz over josh any day.
Actually, none of us know anything. That's the problem with him. All we really have to go on is a highlight reel that doesn't show how he does against a higher level of competition. Not one of those highlights show him beating press coverage. Can he do that? He's considered raw because most of his game is unknown and he's only been playing football 4 years