Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars with 18th best QB situation
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars had their best quarterback play for the better part of a decade in 2015, but that didn’t impress some folks as much as you’d think.
After his rookie season, Blake Bortles had a lot of people questioning whether or not the Jaguars made the right move selecting him with the 3rd pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. He was statistically the worst quarterback in 2014 and he needed to make a huge leap to be considered even average.
Well Bortles made that leap in 2015 and then some. Bortles finished second among quarterbacks in touchdown passes (35) and 7th in passing yardage (4428). He had too many turnovers (18 interceptions) but Bortles was the reason the Jaguars were in so many games in the 4th quarter.
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After his sophomore season, you’d be hard pressed to find a general manager who doesn’t think Bortles has a promising future. The analytics community has a difference perspective.
Sam Monson over at Pro Football Focus thinks the duo of Bortles and Henne is good enough for 18th in the NFL.
"18. Jacksonville JaguarsStarter: Blake BortlesBackup: Chad HenneKey stat: Bortles has yet to top 60 percent in completion percentage in the NFL over a season.Blake Bortles took a huge leap forward in his second season, much like Derek Carr, but while his improvement may have actually been greater, his overall play wasn’t as good at the end of it. Bortles made some big plays, but was an average passer overall in year two, completing just 58.6 percent of his passes and leading the league in interceptions. His best work actually came with his legs, where he averaged 9.3 yards per scramble and seemed to pick up a first down every time he took off. Bortles took such a big step forward in his play between years one and two that his ultimate ceiling is still undefined, but if he can develop even more this season, he will drag the Jags higher up this list. Chad Henne is likely occupying a roster spot purely through familiarity with the system, because the last time he saw the field, he was bad enough to be pulled for a rookie Bortles that the team knew wasn’t ready and wanted to sit the whole year."
Pro Football Focus and the rest of the analytics community aren’t big fans of Bortles. You don’t have to look any further than the second line and the “key stat” in this analysis – Bortles has yet to top 60% in completion percentage over a season… he’s only played two seasons!
Criticism aside, Monson does acknowledge that Bortles made huge strides in year two and his ceiling is significantly higher than he would’ve thought after his rookie year. I understand some of the knocks on Bortles (interceptions being the primary one) and the growth he shows in his third year is going to be key to figuring just how good he can be.
As far as Henne, he’s a serviceable backup. I wouldn’t want him starting more than three games, but he could probably step in and play at an average level now considering the upgraded talent at the skill positions.
Overall, I expect the Jaguars to be higher on this list after the 2016 season.