Blake Bortles: Elite is within reach

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles improved drastically in year two and is getting closer to being called elite.

First things first, Blake Bortles is not an elite quarterback right now. He probably won’t be an elite level quarterback next season, either.

But he certainly has the potential.

Writers at ESPN tried to tackle this subject in June, with a consensus forming that he isn’t the prototypical “elite” QB that the NFL expects from players like Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers. In particular, Tennessee Titans writer Paul Kuharsky notes that “Bortles is never going to be a “clean” quarterback….”

Still, I personally believe that while he may not fit the mold that has developed around elite quarterbacks in recent years, he has the potential to be a league leader.

There are few quarterbacks in the NFL who play with a willingness to take risks. While this has hurt Bortles in his first couple of seasons, taking shots where others wouldn’t is what sets elite quarterbacks apart.

There’s no doubt that the risks Rodgers is taking are different from the risks Bortles takes. He needs to play smarter football, even when trying to get the ball into a tight window. He needs to make better decisions.

That growth as a quarterback shouldn’t lead him completely away from taking risks. It’s a part of his nature as a quarterback already.

It is easy to dismiss Bortles’ mistakes as simply sloppy football, but in reality it’s aggressive football. If he was a sloppy quarterback that didn’t make magical things happen on occasion it would simply be that he is a poor quarterback, but it’s clear that Bortles is more than that.

At this stage in Bortles’ career he needs to work on making his game tighter while still keeping that aggressive play style alive and well. The Jacksonville Jaguars do not want to neuter Blake Bortles, but find a way to strike a balance between aggression/risk and safe(r) play.

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That balance can certainly be found. Plenty of quarterbacks work their way toward it. When Bortles finally finds that balance, he will be borderline elite. He may not be perfectly clean, but he’ll have the right approach in most situations to expect more positives from his risks than negatives.

This was clearly seen in his second season when he threw for 35 touchdowns despite committing a league-leading 18 interceptions. Both marks were among the highest for the NFL. If the negatives come down, Bortles will be a much better regarded quarterback, inching closer to “elite” status.

The debate will likely go on in coming seasons, but expect Bortles to become a part of the conversation in the next couple of seasons and, maybe, he’ll get the “official” inclusion in year five. He’s moving closer and closer and elite may be within reach.