Position review: QB Bortles takes his lumps in rookie season with Jags
In a perfect world, the Jacksonville Jaguars would have let rookie quarterback Blake Bortles spend his first season refining his mechanics in practice situations while watching Chad Henne from the sidelines on Sundays.
Instead, a perfect storm thrust the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft into a starting role from which there appears to be no turning back.
When Henne was sacked a franchise-record 10 times in Week 2 at Washington, a game which led to the release two days later of right tackle Cameron Bradfield, it raised questions about how long the seven-year veteran, not known for his mobility, would last. In their home opener the following week, the Jaguars trailed the Indianapolis Colts 30-0 after a first half in which Henne was sacked three more times and completed only four passes.
Bortles, only the second quarterback from UCF to be drafted in the school's history (Daunte Culpepper being the other), took over to begin the third quarter. Henne never took another snap the rest of the season.
"When you're down 30-0 at halftime, you've got two options," Bortles said after that game. "You can lay down, or you can continue to compete. And I thought we did a good job of continuing to compete. My job was to keep those guys upbeat and positive and not worry about looking at the scoreboard."
In his first start at San Diego, Bortles completed 78.4 percent of his passes, the highest in league history for a rookie with a minimum of 30 attempts in such a situation. Two weeks later at Tennessee, he had the first 300-yard game of his career.
But the wait for his second one continues. Oddly enough, Bortles' worst game from a passer rating standpoint came when the Jaguars overcame his three interceptions to get their first victory of the season by defeating the Cleveland Browns.
Clearly the organization is committed to his development. But after a season in which the Jaguars ranked 31st out of 32 teams in both total offense and passing offense, it will be interesting to see what becomes of Bortles under Greg Olson, who was hired last week as offensive coordinator to replace the fired Jedd Fisch.
Here's a glance back at what happened in 2014:
STARTER
Blake Bortles -- He was far from the only rookie to start for the Jaguars on offense. Three of his top four receivers were first-year wideouts, and two starters along the line were also rookies. Bortles threw for 2,908 yards -- including 16 completions of 30 yards or longer -- and 11 touchdowns, but the numbers which stood out most were the 55 times he got sacked and the 17 times he was picked off. Only three of those interceptions came in the final six games, a statistic which was offset by the fact that he never threw for more than 210 yards in any of those contests. At times, Bortles was more of a threat running on a read option or scrambling after his protection broke down than throwing the ball. Will Olson transform him into more of a risk-taker in Year 2?
BACKUPS
Chad Henne -- After signing a two-year contract in March to remain in Jacksonville, it was hoped that Henne would pick up where he left off from a season in which he established a career high in completions (305) and passed for 3,241 yards and 13 touchdowns. That all changed after halftime of the 44-17 loss to the Colts. He'll be 30 by the time training camp starts in late July, and the Jaguars sorely need someone with his experience to not only mentor Bortles but be ready to take over in case of an injury. Henne made six starts for the Jaguars in 2012 when Olson was the quarterbacks coach under offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.
Stephen Morris -- Undrafted out of the University of Miami, Morris spent the entire season on the practice squad except for the Jaguars' win in December over Tennessee where Bortles was listed as questionable going in because of an injury to his right foot.
POSSIBLE FREE-AGENT TARGETS
It's extremely unlikely that the Jaguars will target a quarterback in free agency. What few above-average players there are at that position are more likely to try to latch on with a winner or a team on the verge of contending. Many of the unrestricted free agents are former first-round picks who never panned out as hoped. Among them: Blaine Gabbert, whose only action last season after the Jaguars traded him to San Francisco came when he threw seven passes in mop-up duty in the 49ers' 42-17 loss at Denver.
BEST DRAFT OPTIONS
The only time the Jaguars have drafted quarterbacks in back-to-back years came when they chose David Garrard in the fourth round in 2002 and Byron Leftwich in the first round in 2003. Using a pick in any of the first four rounds at this position would give the impression that they aren't happy with the progress of Bortles. Alabama's Blake Sims could be an intriguing prospect if he's still on the board in the sixth or seventh round, but the Jaguars are more apt to bring someone undrafted into camp.
FINAL THOUGHT
The biggest change doesn't involve the active roster. Olson comes to the Jaguars from the Oakland Raiders, where he turned second-round pick Derek Carr into a quarterback whose 76.6 rating was superior to the 69.5 mark of Bortles. Another statistic where Bortles has to shoulder some of the blame: Only the New York Jets were more inefficient than the Jaguars (13 of 32, 40.6 percent) at scoring touchdowns after getting inside the opposing team's 20-yard line.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
