NFL Stock Watch: 10 Players Trending Up And Down
By Evan Massey
Down: Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
When rookie quarterback Blake Bortles took over for Chad Henne in Jacksonville, the excitement began growing in Jaguars’ fans. They thought that they were about to see their franchise quarterback walk onto the field and begin a new era of football, but Bortles simply hasn’t been able to be that guy for them yet.
Through his first eight regular season games in the NFL, Bortles has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,921 yards, eight touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He has shown terrible decision making and field awareness, and there is plenty of reason for the Jaguars and their fans to be concerned. Obviously this is just his rookie season, but he has been trending downwards for awhile now.
If the Jaguars are going to turn their franchise around in the next five years, they need Bortles to come through in a big way for them. The organization as a whole is still very confident in Bortles’ ability, but they need to see more from him than they have over the past few weeks especially. Bortles has all of the physical tools to be something special, but he has to find a way to put everything together.
Next: Up: Mark Ingram