Does Blake Bortles remind anyone of Blaine Gabbert coming out the draft?

[Logicallylethal]

Not that Bortles is doomed for the same fate as Gabbert, but their draft profile and rise on the draft boards have a lot of striking similarities

Both players touted for their "prototypical size" and measurements at their combine/pro day. Both not talked about much as top prospects or top qbs during the college season, but shoots up the draft boards once draft gurus started scouting and projecting. A lot of "strengths" touted by scouts are size, stature, and ability to "make all the throws" (most overused phrase by scouts by the way) and a lot of similar weaknesses like not polished or ready, bad footwork, could work on mechanics, average deep ball.

What do you guys think?

 

[Trudem]

I dont think so at all. I trust Bortles way more than I did Gabbert coming out of college. Bortles also shows a calmness in the pocket that Gabbert could only fantasize about...

 

[night]

Bortles played in a pro-style offense and Gabbert ran the spread in Missouri. I think that gives Blake a leg up on anything Blaine had going for him into the draft. I think the main thing that put Gabbert on the map was the Oklahoma upset. Everything beyond that didn't seem very impressive.

 

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

What do you guys think?

I don't see how you can logical compare the two.

- Bortles went 2-0 in his bowl games. Gabbert went 0-2.
- Bortles went 22-5, Gabbert went 18-8.
- Bortles was named AAC Offensive Player of the year. Gabbert only got "honor mentions."
- In Bortles final season, his passer efficiency rating and YPA was 9th and 8th in the league. Gabbert's was rated 69th and 87th in the league.
- Bortles put up 25 TDs in 13 games for UCF in his final season. Gabbert put up 16 touchdowns in 13 games.
- Bortles got his team to a BCS Bowl win. Gabbert didn't even make it into a BCS Bowl game.
- As others have pointed out, Bortles is a pocket passer and has shown he can excel in the pocket.
- Bortles has experience playing under center and in the shot gun. Gabbert rarely took any snaps from under center.

Is Bortles a perfect prospect? Nope. He has a tendency to stare down his receivers and his deep ball accuracy needs some polish. But on the upside, you have a prospect with a lot of moxy, excelled within his conference, possesses great physical skill sets, and a winning pedigree.

Do you know who Bortles reminds me of? Big Ben.

 

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

Bortles played in a pro-style offense and Gabbert ran the spread in Missouri. I think that gives Blake a leg up on anything Blaine had going for him into the draft. I think the main thing that put Gabbert on the map was the Oklahoma upset. Everything beyond that didn't seem very impressive.

Correct. His numbers were rather pedestrian in 2010 and 2009. Chase Daniels put up twice as good stats and played better in big games. But of course Daniels was "undraftable" due to his size and arm strength.

 

[SonnyCID]

Do you know who Bortles reminds me of? Big Ben.

 

[broncosmitty]

I see a lot of Big Ben's game too.

 

[Logicallylethal]

I was more referring to the two player's hype and ascension up the draft boards over their measurements more than the two's style of play.

I could see the Big Ben comparison though, but Big Ben coming out of college had a rocket of an arm and in my opinion was more polished (better footwork, more poise in the pocket with pressure). Bortles has a strong arm but it's not on the same level as Big Ben.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I don't know about the Gabbert comparisons, but I'm not sold on Bortles. I've only seen him play three times, but he didn't look to me like a "can't miss" NFL QB prospect. Not a particularly accurate passer in the games that I saw.

 

[broncosmitty]

I was more referring to the two player's hype and ascension up the draft boards over their measurements more than the two's style of play.

I could see the Big Ben comparison though, but Big Ben coming out of college had a rocket of an arm and in my opinion was more polished (better footwork, more poise in the pocket with pressure). Bortles has a strong arm but it's not on the same level as Big Ben.

BigBen dominated the MAC his final season. Picked teams apart. He was a sight to see and that was right after a number of QBs had put up some serious passing numbers in that conferencd. But Im going more on the ability to move around and be evasive without tremendous speed.

 

[Clayton]

It looks like I'm not needed here but I generally agree with the Big Ben comparison even if Bortles is a bit more raw. Some of Bortles tape actually looks identical to Jake Locker but Locker is a better athlete and less accurate as a passer. I still say that Elway is a good comparison when talking about NFL upside.

Gabbert had Danario Alexander for one year and then his numbers dipped a bit without him. Gabbert's bowl game against Iowa where he passed for a number of yards was his 'showcase' game but Iowa was missing multiple players on defense and most of Gabbert's passes were down the middle. Gabbert's fatal flaw was a lack of pocket presence which he has never had.

 

[David_son]

I didn't even know who Gabbert was and I live in Missouri I knew who Bortles was when he declared. Gabbert remained made a lot of jp losman

 

[TDs3nOut]

It looks like I'm not needed here but I generally agree with the Big Ben comparison even if Bortles is a bit more raw. Some of Bortles tape actually looks identical to Jake Locker but Locker is a better athlete and less accurate as a passer. I still say that Elway is a good comparison when talking about NFL upside.

Gabbert had Danario Alexander for one year and then his numbers dipped a bit without him. Gabbert's bowl game against Iowa where he passed for a number of yards was his 'showcase' game but Iowa was missing multiple players on defense and most of Gabbert's passes were down the middle. Gabbert's fatal flaw was a lack of pocket presence which he has never had.

Seems like quite a disconnect between those two bolded phrases. Elway, when he came into the league, was as good an athlete as I'ver seen play QB. Bortles in no way resembles Elway, in my opinion. Elway had a much better arm and much better foot speed.

 

[Clayton]

Seems like quite a disconnect between those two bolded phrases. Elway, when he came into the league, was as good an athlete as I'ver seen play QB. Bortles in no way resembles Elway, in my opinion. Elway had a much better arm and much better foot speed.

Bortles didn't play like Big Ben at all. Elway's footspeed was like a 4.9, right? Elway had an okay deep ball in the NFL but it wasn't the main part of his game. Bortles was clutch in college. I think it adds up.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Bortles didn't play like Big Ben at all. Elway's footspeed was like a 4.9, right? Elway had an okay deep ball in the NFL but it wasn't the main part of his game. Bortles was clutch in college. I think it adds up.

I don't really know what his 40 time was, but I would guess, based on how many NFL LBs he outran, that it was closer to 4.5 than 4.9. He was a first round draft choice by the NYY, who pitched and played OF in college. Doesn't make sense to me to say that Bortles is both less athletic than Bortles but a good comparison to Elway.

As far as claiming that Elway had only an "okay deep ball", that makes me think that you probably didn't see him play much. Few NFL QBs have ever had a stronger throwing arm than Elway had.

 

[Clayton]

I don't really know what his 40 time was, but I would guess, based on how many NFL LBs he outran, that it was closer to 4.5 than 4.9. He was a first round draft choice by the NYY, who pitched and played OF in college. Doesn't make sense to me to say that Bortles is both less athletic than Bortles but a good comparison to Elway.

As far as claiming that Elway had only an "okay deep ball", that makes me think that you probably didn't see him play much. Few NFL QBs have ever had a stronger throwing arm than Elway had.

I didnt see much of young Elway. His youtube footage is pretty janky. I have seen enough of Bortles to know that people are projecting him to be like Big Ben but he didnt actually play like Big Ben. The big snag with Bortles is his deep ball. If he doesn't fix that, he doesn't project to be anyone that last in the NFL

 

[Logicallylethal]

I've never seen anyone question Elway's arm strength before

 

[broncosmitty]

I've never seen anyone question Elway's arm strength before

His accuracy, or lack thereof, always gets overlooked because he had a rocket arm and won games. He didn't even complete half his passes early in his career.

 

[Clayton]

I've never seen anyone question Elway's arm strength before

Arm strength and deep ball accuracy are two different things.


Honestly, Bortles is too raw to make a comparison unless you're thinking Tannehill

 

[SonnyCID]

What reminds me of Ben is Bortles way of standing tall and keeping his head up under pressure. And they have a similar big over the top delivery.

Ben was a great athlete coming out. But I dont remember him doing all the evasive bobbing and weaving at Miami that he did/does in the NFL. At school, he seemed to just stand there and take on rushers, usually just bouncing them off of him.