If you never heard of Blake Bortles until a month ago, you wouldn’t be alone. In the summer, a lot of people were exposed to his girlfriend Lindsey Duke, thanks to an eye-popping photo shoot at the University of Central Florida. More people have still heard of Lindsey Duke than Blake Bortles, although watching UCF rise to a BCS bowl win has elevated the profile of Bortles, and with NFL scouts are now placing very high value in the draft stock of Blake Bortles.
But #1 overall level?
According to a former NFL scout named Russ Lande, yes. I don’t know how credible Lande is, or how much truth there really is to this “report” if any. During the NFL Draft, and the time leading up to it, professional lying gets taken to an art form.
Texans owner Bob McNair wants Johnny Manziel to be the pick, while new head coach Bill O’Brien is leaning toward Blake Bortles — and trading down to pick later in the first round. O’Brien “is not sold that Manziel possesses the work ethic and intangibles necessary to be the face of a franchise,” according to Lande. B.O.B. had the chance to scout Blake Bortles first hand as UCF beat the Nittany Lions in State College this past fall.
I think this is all just rumors and gossip, I seriously doubt the Houston Texans have made their minds up on this, and to tell you the truth I feel a little dirty for even doing a post on this Lande guy running his mouth. If I had to guess, I would say both Teddy Bridgewater and Jadeveon Clowney get taken ahead of Manziel, and also Anthony Barr and Jake Matthews go ahead of Blake Bortles.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox Sports Radio. A former writer for NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)