Jaguars plan to 'accelerate' Blake Bortles' development
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Greg Olson is working with draft prospects at this week's Senior Bowl content knowing his team isn't in the market for a starting quarterback among the aspiring NFL players.
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles had a breakout second season in the league, throwing for 4.428 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2015. His 35 touchdown passes were second most in the NFL, trailing only New England's Tom Brady.
Olson said Bortles' performance helps offer the Jaguars clarity as they formulate their offensive plans for next season.
Via Jacksonville's official website:
“You need to make sure [the offense] is tailored to fit the quarterback if you believe it’s your guy, if it’s not a turnstile,” Olson said. “We don’t have a turnstile thing going on at quarterback right now.
“We’re comfortable with Blake Bortles. We’re going to accelerate his development.”
As part of that acceleration, Olson said he wants Bortles to refine his offseason preparation.
"We picked out four quarterbacks – I’m not going to let you know who they are – and we said, ‘We want you to reach out to these guys and talk to them about what they do in their offseason,’" Olson said. "We structure every hour of his day during the season seven days a week, but what about the offseason? What are those guys doing in the offseason? We said, ‘Ask these guys if they could do it all over again when they were 23 and they were going into their third season? What advice would they give you as far as your preparation?’ That’s the key."
While Bortles led the NFL with 18 interceptions, Olson said he hopes a second season in the same offense will help the third overall pick in the 2014 draft cut down on his turnovers.
"There should be more clarity. I don’t know if he’ll throw for 4,000-plus yards and 35 touchdowns, but I’d like to believe his touchdown-interception ratio will be better," Olson said. "I’d like to believe we’ll be running the football better because he’ll be able to get us out of bad looks, so some of those things I think we’ll be better at. I think he’s well-suited for play-action. I think to run the ball would help him."
For a team that expects to compete for a playoff spot next season, Bortles' continued development will go a long way towards achieving that goal.
