Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has admitted that the club had an interest in quarterback Blake Bortles ahead of the 2014 Draft.

The Cardinals distanced themselves from reports linking them with taking a signal caller in the Draft, but they have now revealed that they did like what they saw from Bortles in the build-up to the selection process.

Bortles was selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars so the Cardinals would have had to trade up 17 spots to snag their man.

Keim told SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio: "Well, you know, we liked Blake Bortles a lot. We thought when you looked at his size, his athleticism, his ability to improvise.

"He doesn't have quite the arm strength that Ben Roethlisberger had but he has some of the same skill set, naturally with his foot speed and athleticism to get out of the pocket and make plays with his feet, as well as stand tall in the pocket and make some of the throws down the field."

The Cardinals traded down in the 2014 Draft and selected Deone Bucannon with their first-round pick.