Blake Bortles called a ‘cross between Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger’

UCF Knights quarterback Blake Bortles is one of the most talked about players as we approach the NFL Draft season and his stock is only continuing to rise as we draw nearer to the 2014 NFL Draft. While he may have been unknown to those outside of the scouting community just a few weeks ago, Bortles is considered one of the top three quarterbacks in this year’s draft class.

Of course, Bortles is just a redshirt junior so he can return to UCF for his senior season, but he could ultimately decide to strike while the iron is hot and declare while his stock is high.

We have heard people labeling Bortles as a “poor man’s Andrew Luck” in the past, but ESPN and Scout Inc.’s Todd McShay compares him to a combination of two quarterbacks from the AFC North.

In his latest mock draft, McShay wrote:

"Bortles has good size, arm strength and accuracy, and has proved he can win from inside the pocket. He also possesses good character and a strong football IQ. A nice bonus is that he’s built to last in the NFL because he’s big and mobile enough to move around. He isn’t Cam Newton, but more of a cross between Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger."

There is no denying that Bortles’ stock may have been boosted by the decision of Oregon’s Marcus Mariota to return to school, so now he has the opportunity to go out and show NFL teams around the league why he should be a top draft pick.

Bortles will have the UCF bowl game against Baylor to shine once again, before determining before the Jan. 15 deadline if he will declare or not.

Do you think Bortles should declare and how high do you think he should be drafted?

Sound off in the comments section with your thoughts.