It Ain’t Over Yet! Coach Zimmer Says Moritz Boehringer Making “Noticeable Improvement”

  |  
Jul 25, 2017

If you’re one of the few that listen to our weekly Podcast, you’ll know that I’ve been a huge proponent of German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer since before the Vikings drafted him in last year’s draft. The story I’ve told pretty much every week since is that I ran into Norv Turner at Buffalo Wild Wings the morning after the first round of the draft and told him that he needed to draft Boehringer…

… Apparently, he listened, as the Vikings ended up taking Boehringer in the sixth round that weekend. No one has denied that he’s a physical specimen (I’ve even argued that he’s the most physically talented wide receiver since Randy Moss (yes, that means people like Odell Beckham Jr. or Calvin Johnson)), so in order for him to make the final 53 man roster he’ll have to acclimate to the competition and learn the intricacies of an NFL playbook, things that a lot of people assumed he’d be unable to do.

Add to that the fact that the Vikings added a handful of receivers this off-season (in free agency and the draft) and people assumed that Boehringer’s days in the NFL were over. Well, to that I say, not so fast! Speaking to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said the following:

The Vikings currently have a ton of wide receivers under contract. Of the group that’s definitely going to be on the roster come September 11th there’s Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Laquon Treadwell and Rodney Adams. Then there’s Jarius Wright, who is under contract but considering the fact that he was a healthy scratch for large stretches in 2016, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing if he ended up getting cut (even if that means the Vikings will have to eat a lot of that contract, dead money style). The final two to three spots will be filled by the following: Michael Floyd (Who is going to miss the first four games of the year thanks to a recently announced suspension), Stacy Coley (who was drafted this year in the seventh round), Isaac Fruecthe (who has been on the practice squad and very well could make the team this year), Mitch Mathews (a veteran free agent pickup that’s almost 6’7″), Cayleb Jones and Mortiz Boehringer. Assuming the Vikes keep six receivers again this year it’s really not that big of a stretch that Boehringer makes this squad.

If you haven’t seen Boehringer play in person I understand how you can lump him in with other projects. But, the best way to explain him is this story. When I was at training camp last year I couldn’t believe how much faster Kyle Rudolph was than everyone, especially Cordarrelle Patterson, who was thought to be the fastest guy on the team at the time. It was only then that I realized I was looking at Boehringer, a guy with the size of a tight end (6’5″, 230-ish pounds) and the speed of a wide receiver. He’s also got amazing hands and feet, as he was reeling in sideline catches like it was easy for him. So, outside of getting used to the speed/strength of the game, the only thing holding him back would be learning the playbook. That was essentially his sole focus this off-season, which means that he should come into camp this week ahead of a lot of players when it comes to the playbook, which should get him higher up on the depth chart and more chances to prove his worth to the coaching staff.

That appears to be taking place and paying off, as Zimmer said that he’s made noticeable improvements. That excites me to no-end as I (like many of you) grew up in the Randy Moss era and would love nothing more than to have a big, physical, fast receiver that can get open down the field and dominate the point of the catch. Toss in the fact that he’s from Germany and the largest ethnic group in the State of Minnesota is German and it’d just be fun to see a European to the team. I can tell that he’s already converted a lot of his countrymen to real football fans, as a lot of our traffic comes from Germany. A lot of people have written Boehringer off because of the moves that the Vikes made this off-season and I don’t know if that’s really the case. While he could make the practice squad I do think that he’s big, strong and fast enough to start making an impact and even if that means the Vikings draw up a specific number of plays specifically for him, I’m all for it. The NFL is all about exploiting mismatches and there is no larger mismatch than Boehringer against a DB or even an LB, so, I say, let’s get him out there this pre-season to see what he can do.

 

Share: