Blake Bortles Said He Had Comfort Level with Vikings
By Ben Gotz
Feb 21, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles speaks to the media in a press conference during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
With one week to go before the NFL Draft, the Vikings tea leaves all seem to be pointed at UCF quarterback Blake Bortles.
Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both had the Vikings select him in their latest mock drafts this week. Peter King wrote in the MMQB on Tuesday that he “can’t help but think of [Bortles] as a Viking.”
And it looks like Bortles wouldn’t be angry if things turned out that way.
UCF offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe said Bortles told him he would be “happy” going to the Vikings, in a story written by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
“He likes the Vikings,” Taaffe said in a phone interview with Tomasson. “He feels very comfortable with them. He likes the coaches, [general manager] Rick Spielman, who was [on campus]. I know Blake told me he had a real comfort level with them.”
Taaffe said Bortles feels like he would fit well into offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s offense, as UCF ran a very similar system with Bortles under center.
“Our system of offense at UCF was very similar to Norv’s system,” Taaffe said. “Blake said he felt very comfortable with the familiarity with the system.”
The Vikings were on hand for Bortles pro day at UCF Mar. 19, and it seems that the team has remained very interested in him as the weeks went on. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweeted on Wednesday that there’s “some sense that Bortles is top QB target for the Vikings.”
Wolfson added that it was hard to know who to trust at this stage of the process though, and he wasn’t sure Bortles would last until the 8th overall pick either.
But it doesn’t look like Bortles would be too angry if he had to wait until pick No. 8 to hear his name called by the Vikings.
“Minnesota is one of the teams he felt good about,” Taffee said. “I feel like [the Vikings] did like him when they were down here.”
What do you think Vikings fans? Are you buying all this late steam connecting Bortles to the Vikings? Or do you think it’s all just hot air? Sound off in the comments below or talk to me on Twitter @Goatman102!