Football fans had to be impressed by the performance of Mac Jones on Monday night. Throwing for 464 yards and five touchdowns, Jones was an absolute machine. He tore apart the Ohio State defense and made quick work of the Buckeyes in a 52-24 win by the Crimson Tide.
As the Patriots look for the quarterback of the future, Jones could be available for New England in the first round and, perhaps, the second round. When you look at the names in this year’s draft, this class is full of heavyweight prospects from Trevor Lawrence to Justin Fields to Zach Wilson to Trey Lance.
If the Patriots selected Jones, it would give them stability at the quarterback position. Combined with his big-game pedigree, Jones would give the Patriots a pocket passer who is able to get the ball out quick. With a 77.4% completion percentage this year, Jones was extremely accurate with the football. He also threw for 11.2 yards per attempt. With 41 touchdowns to four interceptions, Jones was both productive and consistent.
He would be a little bit different than the quarterbacks of the NFL today. Patrick Mahomes Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa all have some sort of scrambling ability. The game is trending toward quarterbacks who can run with the football. This would be a potential knock on Jones, as he carried the ball 35 times from 14 yards this year with the Crimson Tide.
In addition, there is no doubt that his supporting cast of was one of the best that Alabama. Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle as well as running back Najee Harris helped out quite a bit. That’s not even a knock on Jones, those are three very good players. We are looking at three potential first-round picks right there.
Even so, if Bill Belichick can revamp the wide receiving position and surround Jones with weapons, he would be the go-to-guy for New England. His accuracy and ability to throw the football would reinvigorate the passing game.
Although it would be nice if he had more of a running element to his game, his ability to find the open man with accuracy and quick decision-making are tremendous strengths of his. All of those are qualities that the Patriots desperately need in a quarterback moving forward.
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