With the 2014 NFL draft quickly approaching, University of Central Florida’s Blake Bortles should be the first quarterback taken in the draft this May. 
Bortles has everything a NFL general manager would want from their future franchise quarterback. Bortles has the size — standing at 6’5” and weighing in at 232 pounds. Many liken him to Ben Roethlisberger, a quarterback with enough size to take hits in the pocket but enough athleticism to shake loose from a few tackles and move in the pocket to make a play.
Bortles has the work ethic to be successful in the NFL. According to his coaches he is the kind of guy that is the first to the practice field and the last one to leave. He strives to improve every time he steps onto the practice field. 
This was evident during his pro day at UCF. The biggest question about Bortles was his off-balance release when flushed out of the pocket. Bortles practiced every day since the end of the season working on this problem and excelled in his pro day workout.
According to espn.com Bortles lives in the film room, scouting every team he plays and looking for weaknesses to exploit. That specific trait can separate a good quarterback from a great one. 
The Houston Texans own the first overall pick in the draft. The Texans shipped their former quarterback, Matt Schaub, off to Oakland and have an immediate need at the quarterback position. Many experts believe that picking a quarterback is the first plan of action for the Texans.
This is important because the Texans hired a new head coach this offseason. Bill O’Brien came to the Texans after two years at Penn State University. O’Brien served as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 2002.  He coached only one season at Georgia Tech, but was serving under Head Coach George O’Leary. O’Leary is the current coach at UCF and helped develop Bortles his entire collegiate career.  
O’Brien has a similar offensive philosophy to the one run at UCF. If the Texans take Bortles with the first pick in the draft, the learning curve would be much lower than a typical rookie after being drafted. 
Bortles led UCF to a 12-1 final record with wins over Penn State, Louisville and Baylor. Bortles completed 74.1 percent of passes against Penn State and added three touchdowns. On the last drive of the Louisville game, Bortles led UCF to victory by completing six of his eight passes and tossing a touchdown. In the Fiesta Bowl Bortles led his team to the underdog victory over the Baylor Bears.
Not only do I think Bortles should be the first quarterback taken in the draft, I think he should be the first overall pick. The Texans will regret it for years if they pass on Bortles.