2017 NFL Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars Show Contentment With Blake Bortles
By Luke Sims
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles was expected to have some competition following the 2017 NFL Draft but, instead, the Jags appear content with their struggling quarterback.
Actions speak louder than words. The phrase is one used occasionally by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan and, oddly, seems to have a different meaning with the team.
Khan uttered that phrase following yet another loss by the Jags under former head coach Gus Bradley. He then proceeded to keep Bradley on staff for another few weeks, waffling on his commitment to the head coach.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars have been non-committal quarterback Blake Bortles through the offseason. At first, new executive vice president for football operations, Tom Coughlin, said Bortles was the team’s quarterback. Then he and the Jaguars waffled later, coming off non-committal verbally.
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This led to widespread speculation that the Jaguars would target a quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft. After all, the team failed to provide sufficient competition for Bortles in the offseason, opting to re-sign longtime backup Chad Henne rather than find a suitable young player who could push Bortles to be better. This essentially handed the job to Bortles.
But after seven picks in the 2017 draft, Bortles remains the unquestioned starter in Jacksonville. This decision to forego finding a possible replacement and young player who could push the struggling quarterback is the biggest reaffirmation that Bortles is the Jaguars’ quarterback going forward. The team is definitely behind Bortles.
Whether for good or for ill, only the games in 2017 will prove one way or the other. Bortles has flashed brilliance at times but he has also made more costly mistakes than any other quarterback since entering the league in 2014.
While the 2017 draft class was weak at the quarterback position, betting on Blake Bortles succeeding is a gamble. If he fails in 2017, the Jags must grab a quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft. This effectively handicaps them in targeting players as the game’s most important position demands action. Unfortunately, other teams can use that to their advantage, much like the Chicago Bears being fleeced by the San Francisco 49ers this year.
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For now, nobody can say how exactly it will all play out. Only Blake Bortles can control the destiny of the quarterback position with his play on the field. This is just one of a few concerns still lingering over the Jaguars following the 2017 NFL Draft.