JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s often called “the most important position in sports.” A starting quarterback in the NFL can elevate or diminish a team’s chances every time he takes the field. It’s why they’re overpaid in free agency and over-valued in the draft.
Looking back at the 2014 draft, the Jaguars took Blake Bortles as the third pick and the first quarterback selected Forget about “they should have taken Khalil Mack” or any of the other hindsight comments, but rather just look at the quarterbacks taken in that draft.
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Considering the “over-valued” portion of the quarterback equation, it was still hard to justify taking Bortles in the number three spot. He might have been the top quarterback on the board, but he wasn’t among the top ten players on anybody’s draft board. Blake might have been a first round pick, but somewhere in the 20’s, not number three.
With multiple picks in the first round, the Cleveland Browns controlled that draft and the Jaguars were looking for a quarterback. “Left tackle, quarterback, pass rusher,” was General Manager Dave Caldwell’s mantra when he took over before 2013. He had selected Luke Joeckel with the second pick in 2013 and was looking for a QB. They thought they could get Bortles at three and Allen Robinson in the second round. They did just that, but were also able to select often-injured Marqise Lee along the way. They thought it was a big win. The Browns were rumored to like Bortles and poised to select him if the Jaguars passed at #3. They waited until the 22nd pick before taking Johnny Manziel, the second quarterback taken in that draft. Teddy Bridgewater was the third QB taken with the last pick of the first round. Derek Carr went at 36, the fourth pick in the second round to Oakland. The Patriots with the 62nd pick took Jimmy Garoppolo at the end of the second round.
We know Manziel was a flameout and teams were wary of Bridgewater just because he wasn’t a big enough guy. The Jaguars never talked about Carr, but really liked Garoppolo and knew he’d be available in the second round. But they over-valued Bortles at the top of the draft and are paying the price now.
Admittedly, in his first two years, Bortles looked like the emerging “franchise quarterback” every team lusts after. He threw 35 TD passes in his second year.
And then something happened.
It’s hard to say what’s going on in a player’s head but somewhere after his second year and during the 2016 season, Bortles lost his confidence. There’s a lot of chatter about his social life but he’s never been late or disciplined by the team. He’s liked by his teammates, although they’re losing confidence in him quickly.
One player at the end of last year, a free-agent-to-be, told me he probably wouldn’t re-sign with the Jaguars. “The quarterback,” he answered when I asked why. And he didn’t.
Dissecting his mechanics has become a sport in itself, but Bortles mental state is keeping him from being the player he was two years ago. Yes he needs better footwork, better body position and better arm motion, that’s easy. But other quarterbacks have overcome those mechanical deficiencies. For Blake, he’s waiting, thinking and looking over his shoulder after every throw in a game or in practice.
Even Head Coach Doug Marrone said this week, “I don’t know. I see a play and I say, ‘That’s a good throw’ and then I see another play and I say ‘That’s a horse-s*&^ throw.’” There was enough of the second kind of throws he described last night against the Bucs to let Marrone open the quarterback position to a full-blown competition.
With all new eyes looking at Bortles this year inside the stadium, they decided Blake, Chad Henne and Brandon Allen were the answer at the quarterback position. “We think he’s the right player,” Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin told me when I asked about Bortles’ development in the off-season.
During this training camp, Henne has established himself as a clear-cut number two in front of Allen. But at this point the starting job is there for the taking. Henne has been on both sides of this equation but at 32 years old is a different player than he was coming out of Michigan and certainly different than when he signed with the Jaguars in 2012. Considered a stopgap player, Henne proved to be so agreeable the Jaguars kept him on the roster to tutor Bortles after the 2013 draft. He and Bortles are friends but both are very pragmatic guys when it comes to the NFL.
It would be hard for a lot of fans to accept Henne as the starter, referring to his stint as the starter in 2012 and 2013. But those were bad Jaguars teams without much talent. This is a much better version of the Jaguars Henne would have to work with if he wins the starting job.
Defining what the quarterback situation with the Jaguars is difficult. You could call it a competition or a controversy but however you define it, it’s a problem. The team is being built to be competitive now and in the near future. Drafting one of the players in a quarterback-rich draft in 2018 isn’t an option. If Bortles can’t get it straight and if Henne proves to be the same player he was three years ago, look for the Jaguars to start next season by spending free agent money on a quarterback.
Unless that happens sooner.