In the past 36 hours, wide receiver Moritz Boehringer has become one of the hottest names in the 2016 NFL Draft. The 22-year old German wideout was virtually unknown before Wednesday, but reports that he would be working out at Florida Atlantic University's Pro Day on Thursday got his name out there, and we at Acme Packing Company took special note because the Green Bay Packers were mentioned as a team that has been researching him.
Now that his workout is complete, he is under the radar no longer.
Here is the summary of his Pro Day from Tony Pauline, via Walterfootball.com:
German receiver Moritz Wilhelm Boehringer put up Olympian-type of numbers. He measured 6044, 227 pounds, posted a vertical jump of 39 inches, a broad jump of 10-11, timed anywhere from 4.38 to 4.45 in the 40 while also running 4.09 in the short shuttle and 6.64 in the 3-cone. Wow!! I'm told he also looked good catching the ball.
As an aside, it's a little hilarious to see the last sentence of that description thrown in for a little extra context. It's almost as if his ability to catch is an afterthought regarding whether he can play wideout.
Mike Kaye of First Coast News confirmed that Boehringer's official 40 times were 4.41 and 4.51 seconds.
Let's try to put Boehringer's numbers into context. As far as we can tell from the NFL's Scouting Combine results, the last wide receiver who left Indianapolis after measuring 6'4" or taller, weighing over 225 pounds, and running his 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds or less was named Calvin Johnson.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Okay, now let's snap back to reality. Boehringer will not be Calvin Johnson, and he certainly won't be Megatron in his first NFL season if he makes a 53-man roster this fall. If anything, Boehringer's best comparison in terms of size, physical ability, and need to grow as a player might already be on the Green Bay Packers' roster: Jeff Janis.
Janis played his college ball at Division II Saginaw State, a far cry from elite college football competition. Likewise, Boehringer is looking to enter the draft after playing in the German Football League for the past few years. Both players dominated their defensive competition before leaving for the NFL, and like Janis, Boehringer will likely need time to learn how to run a full route tree and understand an NFL offense.
Beyond the experience factor, though, let's match up the physical parameters of the two and see how well the comparison works.
Measurement Jeff Janis (2014 Combine) Moritz Boehringer (Pro Day)
Height 6' 2-7/8" 6' 4-1/2"
Weight 219 lbs 227 lbs
40-yard dash 4.42 4.41
Vertical 37 1/2" 39"
Broad jump 10' 3" 10' 11"
20-yard shuttle 3.98 4.09
3-cone 6.64 6.64
Those are actually remarkably similar numbers for the two, with both possessing elite short-area quickness and excellent speed in a large frame. Both have excellent explosiveness as well, as their leaping measurements demonstrate, but Boehringer even exceeds Janis there. However, Boehringer's numbers are probably more impressive, considering he carries an extra inch and five eighths and eight more pounds.
We would have included Megatron's measurements as well, but he did no drills other than run the 40-yard dash at the Combine in 2007. For the sake of argument, however, he measured in at 6'5" and 239 pounds, and NFL.com shows his 40-yard dash time at 4.35 seconds.
Here are a pair of videos taken by Mike Kaye at the Pro Day workout, which show his size, speed, and shiftiness:
