UCF quarterback Blake Bortles' pro day workout begins at around 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, and a report says Bortles stayed plenty busy prior to his drill work.
The Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings "met extensively" with Bortles prior to the UCF pro day, Tony Pauline reported on Twitter.
Each of those four teams owns a top-eight pick in May's draft: Houston at No. 1, Jacksonville at No. 3, Oakland at No. 5 and Minnesota at No. 8. And each also needs a quarterback. Cleveland, which picks fourth, also could use a quarterback.
Bortles (6-foot-5, 232 pounds) was the only one of the top four quarterbacks (Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, Fresno State's Derek Carr and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel are the others) who threw at last month's NFL Scouting Combine, and he is the second of the top quartet to have his pro day. Bridgewater was underwhelming at his pro day Monday, making Bortles' workout all the more important.
Bortles best fits the mold of the prototypical dropback passer, and he also is athletic and has good mobility. He has some flaws, to be sure, but he also has an intriguing upside.
Bortles skyrocketed up draft boards during the 2013 season, his second as the full-time starter. He threw for 3,581 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions and completed 67.8 percent of his passes. He was named first-team All-AAC by league coaches over Bridgewater.
Two other notable quarterbacks have their pro days Wednesday: San Jose State's David Fales and Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas. Fales is a much steadier prospect, but Thomas' athleticism and strong arm likely will lead to some team taking a mid-round flier on him.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
