UCF quarterback Blake Bortles, who is in play to be the No. 1 pick in the draft, said Wednesday night on SiriusXM Sports' "Late Hits" show that he already has visits lined up with the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Houston owns the No. 1 pick, while the Jags pick third. Both would seem to be in the market for a quarterback.
Bortles earned some points from NFL front-office types with his decision to throw at last month's NFL Scouting Combine, something that top quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr and Johnny Manziel decided not to do. Bortles said it was an easy decision.
"I think it was hard to sit in the meeting room and tell them, 'I'm a competitor, I want to compete in every aspect, but I don't want to throw today because it's an uncomfortable situation,' " Bortles said.
He also seemingly took a veiled shot at the quarterbacks who chose not to throw: "It's a level playing field from the quarterback perspective, so I really don't understand why guys don't throw."
One reason given by quarterbacks who don't throw at the combine is that they are not used to the receivers. Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly said last month on NFL Network's "NFL AM" that that is a cop-out.
"You've got to give scouts and coaches and general managers a little credit for a little intelligence, don't you?" he said. "We know you're not throwing to your receivers. What you want to see in a quarterback is see him throw live. See the arm strength, quickness and release."
UCF's pro day is March 19, and Bortles said his goal is to "show off timing, show off tempo and speed in my drop, and put the ball on the money."
In mock drafts by four NFL Media draft analysts, Bortles goes anywhere from No. 1 (Charles Davis) to No. 20 (Bucky Brooks).
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
