Could the next franchise quarterback of the New England Patriots be Alabama's Mac Jones?
Jones is one of five quarterbacks expected to be selected in the first round of next week's 2021 NFL Draft. He has been projected to go as early as No. 3 overall to San Francisco 49ers, while other experts see him sliding down toward the bottom of the top 10.
The Patriots own the No. 15 pick in the first round. It's their highest first-rounder since 2008 but probably not high enough to select one of the top five quarterbacks in this draft class.
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Trading up would be the easiest way to ensure that the Patriots have an opportunity to take Jones -- or any of the other highly rated QBs.
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Would it be worth giving up valuable draft capital to move up for Jones? Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum thinks Jones and the Patriots would be a tremendous fit, and he explained why Tuesday morning on ESPN morning show "Get Up!"
"When you start the offseason as aggressively as they have -- spending all that money -- it’s impossible for me to think that they’re not going to complete the deal and not go up and get a quarterback,” Tannenbaum said.
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“I think we’re overcomplicating it, and maybe because I was on the losing end of so many of those games for 20 years. But if it was good for 20 years, go get Mac Jones. He’s incredibly accurate, he’s smart. He’s the closest to Tom Brady. Go run it back with Mac Jones for a long time.”
The comparisons to Brady are silly. Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the greatest player in pro football history. He's 43 and still playing at an elite level. He's a unicorn.
Jones, in fairness, had a tremendous 2020 season for Alabama and led the program to another national championship. He was, as Tannenbaum pointed out, very accurate with a 77.4 completion percentage. Jones threw 41 touchdown passes with only four interceptions. He also was aided by an awesome offensive line, two of the three-best wide receivers in this draft (including Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith) and the best coach in modern college football history.
Jones' physical talent isn't as exciting as the other quarterbacks projected to be first-round picks. That said, he's one of the most NFL-ready players in the group and should be able to start as a rookie if needed.
Whether to trade up for Jones is certainly an interesting debate for the Patriots, who still haven't found a viable long-term answer at quarterback since Brady departed via free agency in 2020.