April 28 at 6:00 p.m., the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft will be held at Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Ill., and one unexpected european prospect is impressing coaches across the league with his ability.
Moritz Boehringer, a Wide Receiver for the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the German Football League, may be the first player to be taken directly from Europe onto an NFL team. He stands about 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 220 pounds, and has only played football in Europe for 3 years ever since seeing video of his favorite football players, like Adrian Peterson, play in the NFL.
During his pro day in Florida, he was tested in activities like the broad jump, 40-yard-dash and the vertical jump along with a few cone drills. In all four activities, he stunned scouts who were not expecting him to make any impact on their minds.
First, he jumped almost to the 11-foot-mark which, when compared with results from the scouting combine, would have tied for second best.
On the Vertical Jump he reached 39 inches, a result that would have landed him in the fourth position during the combine.
In his 40-yard-dash Boehringer ran for a best time of 4.43 seconds, which is faster than usual for a Wide Receiver that is his size, and in the cone drills set an impressive time as well.
His performance during that day has left a few different NFL teams interested in grabbing him during the upcoming draft to make him a part of their team. The Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are some of the teams that have an eye on Boehringer.
Although the abilities that he showed to the scouts in Florida hooked many of the scouts in the audience, they do not guarantee him as a draft pick over the course of the next few days. If he isn’t picked up this year, he could have the opportunity to become a free agent, giving him some time to refine his skills in football and maybe get another chance at achieving his dream of becoming an NFL football player.