Will the Jaguars pick a QB in the 2017 NFL draft?

There were high hopes for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but instead the team finished the 2016 season 3-13. Plenty of factors played into the team’s inability to live up to the hype of the offseason, but the No. 1 reason was the play of quarterback Blake Bortles.

Now, three years after picking Bortles with the No. 3 pick of the 2014 NFL draft, the Jaguars look like they’re in the market to take another quarterback early. Or at the very least, they are taking a close look at some of the top quarterbacks in the draft class.

Every team gets to bring in 30 draft prospects for private visits and the Jaguars have used at least a few of those spots on quarterbacks. There is no published, full list of prospects who took a private look at Jacksonville, but among the reported visitors has been Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes II, and now Pittsburgh’s Nate Peterman.

Bortles, 25, looked to take a big step forward between his rookie season and 2015. In his second year under center, he finished with 4,428 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. While he was still one of the most turnover-prone quarterbacks in the NFL, his 88.2 passer rating was efficient enough to lead the team to the No. 14 most points in the NFL — a decent mark for a team that was bottom five in the NFL in points in the four seasons prior.

But he regressed in 2016, with 3,905 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Only a handful of quarterbacks had a lower passer rating and his propensity for turnovers bogged down an offense that reverted to No. 25 in points scored.

The Jaguars have until May 3 to decide if the team will pick up the fifth-year option on Bortles’ contract, and if another quarterback is added in the draft, it wouldn’t be shocking at all for the team to make 2017 a contract year for Bortles.

Considering the play and lack of progress from Bortles, that might not be such a bad idea.

Jacksonville’s interest in the quarterbacks in the draft class raises questions about how much influence Dave Caldwell has over the franchise. Hired as general manager in 2013, Caldwell tied his reputation to Bortles when he selected him in 2014, but now appears to be an understudy to new executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, who has little reason to stick with Bortles.

Coughlin appears committed to improving competition at every position, but it would make waves if the Jaguars add another quarterback to the roster early in the draft.

But how early would the team be willing to do it? The No. 4 pick would signal a huge shift in the direction of the franchise, but there may not even be a quarterback in the class worth the selection.

Both Watson and Mahomes have been projected by most to land in the first round, but highly touted quarterback prospects slide in the NFL draft all the time. The Jaguars own the No. 35 pick in the second round and if Watson or Mahomes are still on the board, it could be the perfect scenario for Jacksonville.

Peterman looks like more of a mid-round prospect, which would have made sense for the Jaguars to potentially pursue even if Bortles was a Pro Bowler. The rest of the Jaguars depth chart doesn’t feature much upside with Chad Henne and 2016 sixth-round pick Brandon Allen.

The Jaguars’ lackluster quarterback play held the team back in 2016 and Coughlin looks prepared to upgrade it in the 2017 NFL draft.