Draft Profile Series: Blake Bortles
- Updated: April 21, 2014
As we approach the deepest NFL Draft in recent memory, I’ll give my breakdown and analysis of 75 top prospects in this year’s class. At the conclusion of this series, I will include my final overall and positional rankings, as well as my mock draft.
Blake Bortles, QB, 6-5, 232, Central Florida
Key stats: Passed for 3,581 yards with 25 TDs and 9 interceptions in 2013.
Strengths: Bortles is a big, tough and mobile QB with good pocket awareness, which is huge in transitioning to the NFL. … Is extremely accurate while on the move. … Has good feel within the pocket, and is very adept at avoiding rushers while still keeping his eyes downfield. … Is very tough and will deliver passes while taking hits. … Has good mobility and will excel on rollouts. He does a good job of still looking for receivers while scrambling, but also has enough speed to take off and run when necessary. Accurate and has good timing with short and intermediate throws.
Weaknesses: Has average arm strength and needs to improve his technique throwing from the pocket. … Doesn’t consistently step into throws. Needs to improve on his deep passes as some float and give defensive backs too much time to react to the ball. Stares down receivers on occasion and needs to cut down on the handful of times per game when he throws the ball into coverage instead of checking it down. … Did bulk of his damage inside the hash marks. … Needs to work from behind center.
Conclusion: I have Bortles as my top-rated quarterback. He really does almost everything well. He just needs experience in reading defenses and must improve anticipating and throwing receivers open. Bortles is far from a finished product and if he continues on this trajectory he will become the best quarterback in this draft. However, it’s difficult to put complete faith in a QB that really had one strong season.
NFL comparison(s): Ryan Tannehill/Ben Roethlisberger.
Draft projection: Top-11 pick. Could go No. 1, but more likely will go between Nos. 4-11.
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