Blake Bortles was put on a pedestal as soon as he was drafted 3rd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was a shocking pick, but a much needed one after the franchise suffered through legitimately worst stretch of quarterback play in the modern era of the NFL under Blaine Gabbert.
Things got off to a rocky start as Bortles put together a statistically awful rookie season (advanced metrics in particular did not favor him, as he had the league’s lowest QBR).
Many were worried about Bortles heading into his sophomore season, but the UCF product rose to the occasion and put together a record-setting season – his 35 touchdowns and 4,428 are tops in Jaguars history by a significant margin.