Blake Bortles among most improved second-year players

Blake Bortles had a tough rookie season, finishing 2014 as the worst quarterback in the NFL by many measurements.

So in order to be among the better improved quarterbacks he really just needed to climb closer to average.

Through two games it looks like Bortles has gotten up to average and maybe even surpassed that mark. While there is certainly room for improvement still, the growth is noticeable and so far the statistics seem to lean in favor of improvement as well.

Pro Football Focus took a look at the most improved second-year players this week and Blake Bortles made the list. Here’s what they had to say:

"2014 cumulative grade: -38.92015 grade through Week 2: -1.7There was really only one way for Bortles to go after finishing as our lowest-graded QB in 2014: up. So, it’s encouraging that he’s taken such a big leap from being way below average, to being right around it. If he keeps it up, he could be the guy the Jaguars need him to be."

Obviously that -38.9 grade from 2014 is ugly, ugly, ugly. But a -1.7 still has him underwater in PFF’s grading system and I would like to see him get above 0 if at all possible.

The Jacksonville Jaguars front office thinks that they have the guy they need in Blake Bortles. Many of us are still waiting to see if he can put it all together. We all see the physical tools, the athleticism, and the flashes of brilliance. Becoming a complete quarterback who can make something special happen on each pass goes beyond having all the tools. It’s something more than that.

While it’s good to see Bortles stepping up and become closer, there’s still so much more work to be done.

Hopefully we see him continue to make progress as he takes on the Super Bowl champs next week.

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