Blake Bortles 2017 statistical projections from Bleacher Report are fine

After a terrific statistical season in 2015, Blake Bortles had a fairly bad campaign in 2016. Bleacher Report says 2017 is going to land in between.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a seemingly loaded roster, but analysts have been hesitant to give this team a chance in 2017 for essentially one reason – Blake Bortles.

In 2015, the arrow was pointing up for the former UCF signal caller after he compiled a franchise record 4,428 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns. Sure he also threw 18 interceptions, but Bortles gave the Jaguars a downfield passing attack not seen before in Jacksonville since the days of Jimmy Smith.

2016 was a different story, as Bortles only managed 3,905 passing yards and 23 interceptions while still throwing 16 interceptions. A lot of that positive production came in garbage time as well.

The question now is which version of Blake Bortles will we see in 2017 – the high-variance, big play QB who flashed in 2015 or the turnover-prone first-half ghost of 2016.

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Sean Tomlinson over at Bleacher Report went out on a limb to predict the stats of every starting quarterback in the NFL in 2017, and

he has Blake Bortles producing at a familiar rate

.

"Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars: 57.7 completion percentage, 4,160, 25 TDs, 16 INTsThe Jaguars collected lots of defensive talent in free agency, highlighted by signing Bouye and defensive end Calais Campbell. And they added a dynamic offensive force by selecting running back Leonard Fournette in the first round at No. 4 overall. But a problem remains: Blake Bortles is still their quarterback.Bortles still has inconsistent mechanics, and that’s led to poor ball placement. He’s thrown 51 interceptions over just three NFL seasons, second in the league over that time. Almost 3 percent of his pass attempts have ended in interceptions, so it’s tough to have faith Bortles will salvage his career."

These stats are slightly better than what we saw in 2016 but not quite as impressive as 2015.

Tomlinson seems to conclude these are bad stats, implying he doesn’t think this type of performance will be good enough “salvage” Bortles’ career.

These standard metrics don’t provide much insight, but I can certainly envision a situation where these numbers could be produce a good season for the Jaguars.

In reality, Bortles’ numbers in 2016 weren’t horrific, it’s just that he performed his worst in key situations, particularly on third downs and late in games when the contests were tight. If Bortles can improve in those situations this season (which he certainly could given the monumental coaching upgrade), I would be perfectly fine with all those numbers.

What do you think about these projections? Let us know below.