Mac Jones playing his way into the Panthers’ plans at 8?

There are a variety of benefits for an NFL coaching staff getting to be hands-on with the prospects at the Senior Bowl. How much will working with the Carolina Panthers‘ staff benefit Alabama quarterback Mac Jones?

The short answer to that is — potentially a lot.

There is great value for NFL coaching staffs having the opportunity to work with prospects directly, and perhaps especially so in the 2021 NFL Draft circuit where there is no Scouting Combine and no other opportunity besides Pro Days for in-person interaction.

The Carolina Panthers have the 8th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and while very few mock drafts have placed Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in that slot, the time to do so might be now after Jones’ impressive performance throughout the week of Senior Bowl practices.

Jones, at least by a lot of the NFL Draft community, has been pretty severely underrated throughout the evaluation process. An All-American for the Crimson Tide and Heisman candidate this past season, Jones certainly benefitted from a great supporting cast over the last two years at Alabama, but was it enough that his own NFL projection was skewed?

Jones has taken quickly to the abbreviated offense the Panthers are implementing for Senior Bowl week. He’s out there operating like a pro, making strong and accurate throws, and overall just really showing his chops at the position.

At this point in the process back in 2019, there were not many people who felt like Duke quarterback Daniel Jones would be the sixth overall pick and QB1 of his class, but that is exactly what he ended up being.

If the Panthers come away from this week of practices — essentially a week-long interview — impressed with Jones, why would they risk any other QB-needy team snatching him up before the time they pick in round two of the 2021 NFL Draft?

Although Jones doesn’t have the strongest arm or fastest 40-yard dash time of all the quarterbacks in this class, he has shown the ability to run a pro-style offense well, read the field, make good decisions with the football, throw accurately to every level of the field, and make good throws under pressure.

The quarterback position always gets over-valued when it comes to the NFL offseason, and rightly so. Jones would be stepping into a very intriguing situation in Carolina with guys like Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, and Robby Anderson to get the ball to.

Jones did a tremendous job throughout the week of practices and while many had him going in the first round before, it’s very possible that no one has had him going high enough. His poise and football IQ undoubtedly made an impression on the Panthers’ staff.

Will it be enough for them to spend the 8th pick on him?