General Manager Rick Spielman said Thursday on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio on NBC Sports Radio that the Vikings are pleased with the progression of Teddy Bridgewater and excited for the quarterback's third season and beyond.
Spielman has had an up-close view of the 2014 first-round pick's development as Bridgewater has already helped lead Minnesota to its first NFC North crown since 2009.
While Spielman has noticed the growth Bridgewater made between his rookie campaign and the 2015 season, when the Vikings improved from 7-9 to 11-5, he added he thinks his quarterback can take another step forward.
"I think you see significant jumps with a lot of these young quarterbacks, even when you see Cam Newton from where he was last year – and I remember him playing last year – and then the jump he took this year," Spielman told Florio.
"You've seen Russell Wilson, where he was the first couple years, relying on good defense, relying on the run game, then all of a sudden something clicked in him this year, and I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league as well," he added.
Newton, the first overall pick in 2011, improved over each of his first few seasons before winning the NFL MVP award this season as he led the Panthers to the Super Bowl.
The Vikings limited Newton to 18-of-35 passing for 194 yards with one touchdown and an interception for a passer rating of 65.7 in November 2014. Newton had two games with a lower passer rating and eight games with a rating of 104.4 or higher in 2015.
Wilson, a third-round pick in 2012, increased his passing yards in each of his four seasons in Seattle and has led the Seahawks to four straight postseason appearances.
"We're anticipating, I know Teddy has high expectations on himself. In fact, I saw him in the building the other day, when he had come back, so I know he's focused on even getting better and building upon what he's done his first two years," Spielman told Florio. "I think we're very excited as an organization on what we're going to see from him next year."
The 23-year-old Bridgewater set or tied 11 franchise records in 2015. While some were single-game marks and others were cultivated over the entire season, all displayed a glimpse of the progress Bridgewater made in 2015.
Bridgewater set a franchise record for completion percentage in a playoff game with a 70.8 mark against Seattle in the Wild Card round. He also has the lowest career interception rate (2.5 percent) in Vikings history.
Besides matching a franchise mark by starting all 16 games, Bridgewater also tied Warren Moon and Brett Favre for the most wins in a player's first two seasons of games started with 17.
View some of the best images of Teddy Bridgewater from 2015.
Here's a look at the 11 franchise records Bridgewater set or tied in 2015:
New:Lowest interception percentage, Career: 2.5 Teddy Bridgewater, 2014-15
Old: 2.9 Four players, most recently by Brett Favre, 2009-10
New: Highest QB rating vs. Chicago, Game: 154.4 Teddy Bridgewater, 12/20/2015
Old: 148.6 Fran Tarkenton, 9/17/1961
New: Highest completion percentage passing vs. Chicago, Game: 85.0 Teddy
Bridgewater, 12/20/2015
Old: 79.3 Jim McMahon, 9/12/1993
Record: Most total touchdowns vs. Chicago, Game: 5 Teddy Bridgewater, 12/20/2015 (4p, 1r)
Tied: 5 Tommy Kramer, 11/28/1982 (5p); 5 Fran Tarkenton, 9/17/1961 (4p, 1r)
Record: Most games started by QB, Season: 16 Teddy Bridgewater, 2016
Tied: 13 Times, most recently by Christian Ponder, 2012
New: Highest completion percentage, Preseason: 82.9 Teddy Bridgewater, 2015
Old: 71.7 Rich Gannon, 1992
New: Highest completion percentage, Playoff Game: 70.8 Teddy Bridgewater vs. Seattle, 1/10/2016
Old: 65.5 Daunte Culpepper @ Green Bay, 1/9/2005
Record: Most wins in first 2 seasons in games started: 17 Teddy Bridgewater, 2014-15 (17-11)
Tied: 17 Warren Moon, 1994-95 (17-14), Brett Favre, 2009-10 (17-12)
New: Highest win pct. in first 2 seasons in games started: .607 Teddy Bridgewater, 2014-15 (17-11)
Old: .586 Brett Favre, 2009-10 (17-12)
Record: Highest win pct. vs. Chicago, Career: .750 Teddy Bridgewater, 2014-15 (3-1)
Tied: .750 Rich Gannon (3-1)
New: First Vikings QB to run in a TD and run in a 2 point PAT on next play: Teddy Bridgewater, 11/8/2015
Old: Never happened
