Tis the season for NFL Draft talk … and bashing quarterback Blake Bortles.

It is basically impossible, outside of general manager Dave Caldwell, to find anybody who thinks Bortles can play well enough this year to be the long-term option. It will largely be up to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to put the pieces back and have Bortles gain - not re-gain - a high level of play.

We asked ESPN analyst and Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden about Bortles earlier this week.

"I think Nate Hackett has his hands full," said Gruden, who hired Hackett to his Tampa Bay staff in 2006. "Bortles has a lot of pressure on him. He's got to play better. That's the bottom line. To do that, they need to have a better [run/pass] balance in their offense and they have to protect better.

NFL Draft: A year-by-year review of Jaguars first-round draft picks

"It starts with the protection and with running the football and fixing some of his mechanics, which were clearly flawed later in the year."

That former NFL executive Mike Lombardi piled on isn't a surprise. He has often used the Jaguars as a punching bag since joining the podcast game and he continued last week on his "Real GM," show.

On the Jaguars still deciding on Bortles' fifth-year option: "Decide? There's no deciding. Are you kidding me? My wife can decide that's not going to happen. Blake Bortles' parents know that's not going to happen. Who's going to pay him $18 million? I have a better chance of becoming [general manager] of the [L.A.] Clippers than that of happening."

On new football boss Tom Coughlin: "Coughlin's going to draft a quarterback. [Bortles] doesn't make plays down the field, he gets in the two-minute and is a disaster and his accuracy down the field is horrendous. Look, there are some times when we're all better off saying, 'We screwed that up. We really blew that. We have to admit we made a mistake.' He has to be a guy they have to replace. This is the perfect draft to do it."

On Coughlin: "Bortles is why Tom Coughlin is there. Coughlin has watched every single snap Bortles has played and studied the guy and watched him without any prejudice. Dave Caldwell was always looking through rose-colored glasses. Coughlin doesn't have those glasses."

Back in the booth

The Jaguars' agreement to partner with CBS 47/FOX 30, announced Thursday, means a return to the booth for Brian Sexton, who will handle the preseason television play-by-play and be joined by former quarterback Mark Brunell.

The team's radio voice from 1995-2013, Sexton has spent the last four years as the Jaguars' senior correspondent on the team's website.

"I can do a lot of different things around an NFL team, but at heart, I'm a play-by-play guy," Sexton said. "The thing I miss is the excitement of the game from doing play-by-play. For me, it's awesome. It feels exhilarating that I'm going to get that rush back."

Sexton has not done NFL game on television, but did five years of NFL Europe games.

"I have to shut up more because the game on TV is all about the analyst, not the play-by-play guy," he said. "In the regular season, you care about second-and-3 in the third quarter; in the preseason, it's about telling stories."

Sexton and Brunell will call the New England, Carolina and Atlanta games.

Schedule thoughts

* Philadelphia has failed to reach the playoffs in three consecutive years, but the Eagles' brand is strong, evident with their five prime-time games.

* Out of 16 games, Dallas plays only two in the 12 p.m. Central time window: Week 4 against the Rams and Week 17 against Philadelphia. The Cowboys have five night games.

* Teams who play consecutive games on the East Coast/West Coast: Philadelphia (at Seattle/Rams), the Rams (at the Jaguars/Arizona in London), San Francisco (at Indianapolis/Washington), New England (at Denver/Oakland in Mexico City), Tennessee (at Arizona/San Francisco) and Oakland (at Buffalo/Miami).

* The league took relatively good care of ESPN, which usually gets scraps. Nine of the 17 Monday night games are division match-ups.

* Pittsburgh plays on NBC five times, followed by four for Dallas.

* Best non-prime time games of September: Seattle at Green Bay (Week 1), Dallas at Denver (Week 2) and Kansas City at the Chargers (Week 3).

* Three straight games on the road (not counting byes within the stretch): Jaguars (Baltimore in London/Jets/Pittsburgh although Ravens is a "home game), Minnesota (Detroit/Atlanta/Carolina), Philadelphia (Seattle/Rams/Giants), Atlanta (New England/Jets/Carolina), San Francisco (Arizona/Indianapolis/Washington), Cincinnati (Jaguars/Tennessee/Denver), New England (Buffalo/Miami/Pittsburgh) and Denver (Chargers/Kansas City/Philadelphia).

Final drive

*Every player under contract for the Jaguars has a jersey number. The notable new guys: Fullback Tommy Bohanon (40), strong safety Barry Church (42), linebacker Josh McNary (45), linebacker Lerentee McCray (55), linebacker Audie Cole (57), guard Earl Watford (68), left tackle Branden Albert (76), tight end Mychal Rivera (80), defensive end Calais Campbell (93), defensive tackle Stefan Charles (94) and defensive end Malliciah Goodman (99).

* The Jaguars' strength of schedule is tied with Tennessee for 30th-toughest in the NFL. Jaguars' opponents went 111-142-3/.439 last year. Only Indianapolis has an easier schedule - 107-146-3/.424. Denver is first (147-107-2/.578).

* Tampa Bay is this year's team for HBO's "Hard Knocks," and the Buccaneers play preseason game No. 2 at the Jaguars (Aug. 17). Don't expect much Jaguars in the episode, though. In 2014, Atlanta was the "Hard Knocks" team and it closed the preseason at the Jaguars. Most of the cameras' attention was focused on the pools in the cabana level.

* Alabama will extend its streak of having a first-round pick to nine years, tied with Florida for second-most since 1967. Miami leads with 14 consecutive years (1995-2008).