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Fantasy Football: Can Blake Bortles Be the Best Sophomore QB?

By Luke Sims

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Blake Bortles is gearing up for the 2015 NFL season and while we all wait patiently for it to begin, it’s always nice to take a look at the fantasy football side of things. We’re a long ways away from fantasy really mattering, but that doesn’t stop us from getting geared up.

Recently there was an interesting “instant debate” over at NFL.com about which sophomore quarterback will have the biggest fantasy season in 2015. Almost everyone picked Derek Carr or Teddy Bridgewater, with Marcas Grant as the lone exception. Here’s what Grant had to say on Bortles:

"In the second half of the season, the Jaguars quarterback actually had a higher points-per-game average than Carr. While the Amari Cooper selection will earn Carr and the Raiders a lot of attention, Bortles will have the luxury of a second season with a trio of young, talented receivers. Not to mention that Jacksonville added one of the NFL’s most athletic tight ends by signing Julius Thomas away from the Denver Broncos. Bortles isn’t going to be the sexiest name on fantasy draft boards this season, but he could certainly open some eyes before the year is over."

While I am biased toward the Jaguars, I think this is an incredibly bold prediction. Blake Bortles certainly improved in the latter half of the season based on consistency, but he lost the powerful approach to the game he had displayed earlier in the season. He challenged the secondary less and he relied more on safe passes. Part of it was his arm’s deterioration after a nearly full season of work and part of it was poor play calling on the part of Jedd Fisch. Overall, it seems to me that Bortles will get back to his risky passing in 2015.

There’s no doubt Bortles will be better and I want him to do well with the Jaguars, but he’s a gunslinger as a quarterback and as such is a risky fantasy football option. Derek Carr or Teddy Bridgewater are the safer options in 2015. Hopefully Bortles shows that he can be an impressive passer without the risk, but for now I think this prediction of Bortles surpassing his peers is optimistic. I think he could be the best sophomore passer in fantasy football, but he’ll have to prove it early on.

Next: Is Ace Sanders Prepared for a Big 2015?

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