Alabama quarterback Mac Jones saw minimal action in his first three years with the Crimson Tide. Enrolling in 2017, along with Tua Tagovailoa, he entered a quarterback room that was run by Jalen Hurts.
Fast forward to 2019 with Hurts gone to Oklahoma and Tagovailoa as the starter, Jones is thrusted into action as the No. 1 quarterback due to Tagovailoa sustaining a season-ending hip injury mid-November.
With Tagovailoa entering the 2020 NFL draft, the starting job was somewhat open, with the two contenders being Jones and five-star true freshman from California, Bryce Young.
Jones not only won the starting job, but is exceeding expectations and is in contention to be named the 2020 Heisman trophy recipient.
If Jones continues performing as well as he is, grabbing the attention of draft analysts around the country, and having one more year of eligibility, one must begin to wonder: “What’s next for Mac Jones?”
Well, there are three options:
1. Mac Jones goes pro.
This time last year, if you were to tell an Alabama fan that Mac Jones was a potential first-round quarterback, you would have likely been laughed all the way out of Tuscaloosa.
However, the idea doesn’t seem so far fetched, as he is breaking records and is leading the Crimson Tide to a strong season that could bring Alabama National Championship No. 18.
Recent 2021 NFL mock drafts have projected Jones to be drafted mid-first round to teams that missed out on quarterbacks such as Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields.
He’s not the quarterback with the most recognition in the class, but analysts see him as a viable option for teams that are in need of a fix, like the Chicago Bears or the San Francisco 49ers.