The Story
The 6’4” 227 pound German Wide Receiver went from dominating the German Football League; putting up 59 receptions, 1,232 yards, 13 TD during the 2015 season, to becoming a 6th Round Draft for the Minnesota Vikings. Boehringer became a fan of the sport after watching videos of Adrian Peterson online – yes he was a Vikings fan as well. His story is more of Hollywood script than draft story.
What makes the story even more interesting is NFL Analyst Mike Mayock saying the Vikings should make the selection on air, oddly enough Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer was listening and would call Mayock after he made the comments. The Minnesota Vikings official twitter account enjoyed the situation.
Lesson learned for @MikeMayock — Coach Zimmer is always listening.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 30, 2016
They followed with further tweets after the selection.
We're going international!
The #Vikings have selected @MoBoehringer ??. pic.twitter.com/7Q1BkIguPl
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 30, 2016
Mayock enjoyed the selection as well.
It's safe to say @MikeMayock loves what just happened in the #Vikings Draft Room.
MORE: https://t.co/duhFAYlpok pic.twitter.com/NlvIJMyUlI
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 30, 2016
The Player
Boehringer isn’t just a good player, he’s a player with a wealth of potential. Having not ever played college football means the jump in competition for him is greater than any other draft pick with a football background. That does not mean he doesn’t have a chance to succeed as he has some traits that do stand out. He possess a great combination of size, speed, and quickness in the open field which made him a star in Germany.
His pro day at Florida Atlantic catapulted his draft stock, if he wasn’t such a raw talent a team could have been justified taking him in the 3rd round. He will need to polish his route running, learn to use technique, and adjust to physical Corners who will be able to run with him. If the Vikings are patient with Boehringer there is no reason why he won’t be able to become a productive Receiver in the NFL.
His rawness matched with his skillset means his potential is as high as a potential Pro Bowler, while his floor is to never adjust to not being able to overcome the jump in competition. It will be interesting to watch and see how Mortiz Boehringer develops.