He was someone I knew nothing about but it sounds like he is the most athletic WR in this year's draft:
The hype train surrounding
Moritz Boehringer was
chugging along at a nice pace entering his pro day on Thursday. After an incredible workout in front of NFL scouts, that train is now in full runaway mode.
In a matter of hours, the wide receiver from Germany went from someone most outside the hardcore NFL scouting community had never heard of to a player some scouts now believe could be taken as high as the fourth round in the NFL draft.
Officially at Florida Atlantic's pro day, Boehringer ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, had a vertical of 39 inches, a 10-foot-11 broad jump, a 4.10-second short shuttle, 11.15-second 60-yard shuttle, and a 6.65-second three-cone drill that had scouts on the ground doing double-takes at their stopwatches, shaking their heads, and laughing. He also had 17 lifts on the bench press. All of these marks would have landed inside the top five among all wide receivers who tested at the NFL
Scouting Combine in February. And his 40, which was run on grass, is about the equivalent of a 4.39 on turf -- a time that would have tied for second among receivers at the combine.
What makes the performance even more remarkable was that Boehringer did it at a height-weight combo (he measured 6-4 1/2 and 227 pounds on Thursday) resembling an NFL tight end. There just aren't many historical comparisons for a player testing like he did at that size. Two of the more recent, better comps might be
Devin Funchess and
Dorial Green-Beckham -- 2015 second-round picks by the
Carolina Panthers and
Tennessee Titans.
In the field drills, Boehringer caught every pass thrown his way despite some adventurous tosses by the quarterback. Scouts were curious if he had ever faced press coverage so they asked a couple of the defensive backs there to press him at the line of scrimmage, and he had no problems releasing. At least two teams wanted to see his blocking techniques as a tight end. And when he was coached up, he was able to immediately make corrections.
"I came here today knowing what I needed to do," the ultra-quiet Boehringer said in perfect English after his pro day. "But I didn't realize there was going to be so many people watching me."
Following his workout he was plastered in the locker room with questions from scouts who were getting their very first exposure to him. The
Patriots,
Packers,
Vikings,
Broncos and
Chiefs appear particularly interested.
Chiefs GM John Dorsey, receiving a report from his scout on the ground at FAU, called Boehringer's agent, Kyle Strongin, in the middle of the workout and requested a visit. The
Vikings scout -- who met with Boehringer Wednesday night and had introduced himself so Boehringer would remember him after the draft in his pitch to join Minnesota as a free agent -- was suddenly reassessing that plan Thursday, understanding the receiver would now likely cost his team a draft pick, maybe even a mid-rounder.
What complicates matters for NFL teams in trying to put a proper grade on Boehringer is that his evaluation is all projection. The level of play, even in Germany's top league where he dominated last season, is so far below the college level in the U.S. that
all tape on him has little value aside from Madden-level entertainment.
But after Thursday's workout, there appears to be a clearer picture of what kind of player Boehringer could become in the NFL.
