Jacksonville Jaguars: Can the offensive line salvage Blake Bortles?

The Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line certainly hasn’t helped Blake Bortles in his development as a quarterback, but can the 2017 version do enough to salvage him before the Jags move on?

Putting the blame for Blake Bortles’ development on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line woes is unfair. While Bortles may have a couple more wins under his belt with a better offensive line, it’s certainly not what is holding him back from being great.

When looking at a recent chart posted by Pro Football Focus, it’s easy to see that the offensive line isn’t necessarily what is holding him back.

Since entering the NFL in 2014, Bortles has the most batted passes in the NFL. In fact, it’s not even close. That’s the easy takeaway here.

The second takeaway is that of all the quarterbacks in the top five in most batted passes, most of them have poor offensive lines. Andrew Luck and Drew Brees jump out here as quarterbacks that could potentially win Super Bowls in any season with improved offensive line play.

The third takeaway is that Bortles is the clear outlier. The other quarterbacks, aside from the trend-breaking (in all ways) Ryan Fitzpatrick, can all lead their respective teams and win with them.

Andrew Luck’s floor appears to be 8-8. Brees has led 10-win teams purely on the strength of his arm. Ryan Tannehill even surpassed mediocrity to notch 10 wins in 2016.

But for some reason, Bortles simply can’t rise. As regards batted balls, it’s partly due to his ridiculously long throwing motion (which appears tighter after some offseason work) and also partly due to poor field vision. Hopefully he can develop the latter like he has the former.

More from Black and Teal

• Jaguars RB Travis Etienne expected to have bigger impact in 2023
• 5 bonafide stars from the Jacksonville Jaguars 2022 season
• Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t heard any Calvin Ridley news from the NFL
• WR Marvin Jones Jr. will give 110 percent with the Jacksonville Jaguars or wherever he plays in 2023
• Jacksonville Jaguars keeping TE Evan Engram in 2023 one way or another

With a new offensive line that can hopefully keep him more upright (he has been the most sacked quarterback in two of his three seasons), the offensive line may be able to do enough to salvage Bortles as a quarterback. He may be able to spend some time seeing the lanes and use his height to his advantage.

It isn’t all about the pass blocking, though. It’s also about taking pressure off Bortles with the run. Forcing Bortles to throw is clearly not winning games. Balancing the offense and getting Bortles in a complementary role rather than directing a one-dimensional offense will be key for the Jaguars. That starts up front with burst off the line.

Whether it’s settling back to protect him or making holes for Leonard Fournette, the offensive line may hold the keys to seeing Bortles for another few seasons or welcoming a rookie quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft. It isn’t all about the batted balls, but it’s a quick and dirty insight to one aspect that simply must improve and could with better blocking and less pass attempts.