Mac Jones' Alabama swan song couldn't have gone much better.
The Crimson Tide quarterback picked apart the Ohio State defense in Monday's College Football Playoff national championship game, completing 36 of 45 passes for a CFP title game-record 464 yards and five touchdowns en route to a dominating 52-24 victory.
Jones' next stop is the NFL -- he's ranked as the fifth or sixth-best QB prospect on most draft boards -- but where will he end up? Could it be New England, where the Patriots are still looking for their quarterback of the future?
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Next Pats Podcast: Better than Tua? Why Mac Jones might make sense for Patriots | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
On a new episode of NBC Sports Boston's Next Pats Podcast, Phil Perry discussed Jones' pro prospects with Alabama beat reporter Mike Rodak, who thinks Jones has more promise at the next level than another Bama QB, Tua Tagovailoa, who was the No. 5 pick in last year's NFL Draft.
"The thing with Mac is I think he's really good with his body, moving around in the pocket, sensing pressure, knowing when to get rid of the ball, not trying to do too much -- and that was one of Nick Saban's knocks against Tua was that he tried to make some plays that weren't quite there," Rodak described. (Jones) may not have the strongest arm, he may not be quite as accurate as Tua is, and I think that's part of the number one attribute about Tua, but Mac I think is still a good quarterback who didn't get enough credit as he was coming along."
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Jones completed 77 percent of his passes for 4,500 yards this past season, ending the year with an absurd 41-to-4 touchdown to interception ratio. His passer efficiency rating of 203 set a single-season record.
So why did Tagovailoa head into the NFL Draft with a ton of expectations while Jones isn't even a sure-fire first-rounder in some mock drafts? As Perry and Rodak discussed, the gap in hype between Tagovailoa -- a five-star prospect -- and Jones -- a three-star prospect -- has something to do with it.
Perry: Waddle or Smith? Who's the better potential fit with Pats?
"Obviously being the sort of prospect (Tagovailoa) was coming out of high school, everybody was watching everything he did from the start. His freshman year, everybody was talking about how much better he looked in practice than Jalen Hurts and how he should get a chance to start, and eventually he did," Rodak explained. "There was no such talk about that with Mac. Nobody was saying 'Mac Jones should be starting over Tua.' It just happened when Tua got hurt and Jalen Hurts was gone at that point to Oklahoma, so Mac Jones was the next guy in. And then you start to watch him, and maybe this guy can play."
Also discussed in the new episode: Perry and Rodak discuss Jones' leadership style, his potential fit in New England and if he has enough athleticism to succeed in the NFL. They also talk about the differences between Alabama wideouts DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle.
Check out the latest episode of the Next Pats Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube below: