Niner Noise
FanSided

NFL 2018 preview: 5 quarterbacks with a lot on the line this season

By Peter Panacy

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 23: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens stands on the sidelines prior to the game against the Indianapolis Colts at M&T Bank Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 23: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens stands on the sidelines prior to the game against the Indianapolis Colts at M&T Bank Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 21: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars reacts in the fourth quarter during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 21: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars reacts in the fourth quarter during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Blake Bortles. 1. team. 52. . .

And the No. 1 player on our list of NFL quarterbacks under the most pressure this season is the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Blake Bortles.

In 2017, the upstart Jaguars managed a 10-6 record and rode a stout running game and top-tier defense all the way to the AFC Championship game.

Bortles wasn’t exactly the reason why.

Granted, the Jags were smart by not asking Bortles to be the guy last season. While he had his moments at various points last season, there were also more than a few games when fans were reminded why the former No. 3 overall draft pick looks more like a bust than a Pro Bowler.

Yet, for some reason, Jacksonville inked Bortles to a three-year, $54 million deal this offseason. And they waited until Round 6 before drafting a quarterback, Nebraska’s Tanner Lee.

Lee won’t pressure Bortles much this season, so 2018 will again be his show.

With the Jaguars on the cusp of yet another deep playoff push, though, Bortles will be under tremendous pressure to deliver as more than just a game manager. And he’ll have to justify that contract too.

Next: NFL power rankings: 32-team breakdown after the 2018 NFL Draft

If not, one should expect the Jaguars to look elsewhere in 2019.