The Jacksonville Jaguars grabbed Blake Bortles with the No. 3 pick to be their quarterback of the future.
Schein: Round 1 winners and losers
On the Around The League Podcast we discussed whether Bortles being the first quarterback selected -- by a wide margin -- puts the most pressure on the 22-year-old.
General manager Dave Caldwell attempted to insulate his young passer from those expectations on Friday, insisting to ESPN's Britt McHenry that veteran Chad Henne will open the season as the Jags' starting quarterback.
"To be honest with you, probably 2015," Caldwell said after being asked when he expected Bortles to start, per ProFootballTalk.com. "We'd like to give Chad this whole year and go with Chad this year."
Bortles played in 37 games in three seasons at Central Florida and burst into the national consciousness this past season. His prototypical 6-foot-5 size, zip and accuracy make him the ideal pro prospect.
Caldwell, however, admitted Bortles has "some development to do," which is why he's beginning his post-draft gambit selling Henne. The ultimate plan is to get Bortles "ready so come 2015 he's ready to compete for that spot," Caldwell said.
The Jags can't afford a repeat of Blaine Gabbert. To be fair, the franchise isn't ready to compete for the AFC South this season. Looking toward the future is a priority.
Top quarterbacks don't often sit in today's NFL. However, for Jacksonville -- a franchise headed in the right direction -- redshirting their first-round pick could be the best move in the long-term.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" provides instant reaction to all the wild happenings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
