Teddy Bridgewater

Fantasy Upside

For the first time since his injury in the 2016 offseason, Teddy Bridgewater enters training camp as the unquestioned starter. After a successful two-year stint backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans, the Panthers signed Bridgewater to a three-year deal to replace long-time face of the franchise Cam Newton. Bridgewater enters a pretty good situation for a new starting quarterback, with excellent weapons in Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel.

Fantasy Downside

Unfortunately for fantasy owners, Bridgewater has never been a prolific passer. As a starter for two years with the Vikings, he averaged just 212 yards, 0.97 touchdowns and 0.72 interceptions per game. Even under Sean Payton filling in for Brees last season, he averaged only 228 yards per game. He was more efficient at 1.5 touchdowns to 0.33 interceptions, but those still project out to 3,648 yards and 24 touchdowns over the course of a season, or Kirk Cousins numbers from last year. Additionally, while Bridgewater has excellent weapons to work with, Justin Edwards ranks their offensive line 26th going into the season.

2020 Bottom Line

We don’t know how well new Head Coach Matt Rhule’s offensive system will translate from college to the NFL, and Bridgewater has the talent and weapons to thrive if the offense clicks. However, the more likely scenario is Bridgewater continues to be an efficient player with limited fantasy success, landing in the QB2 range more often than the QB1 range in any given week. He should be considered a viable depth option in most leagues, or perhaps a low-end gap-starter in 2QB formats.