New Orleans Saints should target Mac Jones in the 2021 NFL Draft

It is finally official. Long-time New Orleans Saints quarterback and all-time NFL great, Drew Brees, has announced he’s retiring from the NFL. During the course of his NFL career, Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times, was named Offensive Player of the Year twice (2008 and 2011), won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and set several NFL records along the way.

With Brees no longer in the picture at quarterback, the New Orleans Saints will turn to either Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston as their starter. Both players served as Brees’ backups last season, and both saw some action with Brees sitting out due to injury. By having Hill and Winston on the roster, it’s clear the Saints knew Brees’ retirement was coming. They knew they would have an immediate need to fill when that time came, and they’ve already filled it. Or have they?

There’s no question that Hill and Winston bring very different skill sets than Drew Brees to the team. Hill has been used in various capacities, while Winston is an experienced NFL starter, but are either of these quarterbacks going to keep the New Orleans Saints as true NFC contenders? I’m not going to say they can’t or won’t, but I do think the Saints would have to make some major adjustments on offense to fit whoever ends up being their starting quarterback.

If the New Orleans Saints wanted to keep their offense near the same as it was with Drew Brees, they should consider looking at one of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft. That quarterback would be Mac Jones.

Am I saying Mac Jones is the next Drew Brees? Not at all. However, I do see some similarities between the two quarterbacks that could make the Saints’ transition to a new quarterback a little easier. Let’s break down those similarities, and why Jones may be a better option than Hill and Winston for this Saints’ offense.

Mac Jones vs. Drew Brees

Drew Brees is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in NFL history. He finished his 15-year career with a completion percentage of 67.7%. In those 15 years, Brees completed 70% or more of his passes in seven seasons, with five of those seasons being the last five seasons of his career. Brees’ high completion percentage and accuracy are one of the main reasons why the Saints have been so efficient on offense and in contention year after year.

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Let’s compare that to Mac Jones. During this past season at Alabama, Jones completed 77.4% of his passes. In his college career, he completed 74.3% of his passes. One of the biggest strengths of Mac Jones is his accuracy. He has the ability to correctly place the ball where it needs to be for his receivers to make the catch. His ability to envision where his receiver is going to be and place the ball in that spot is elite.

Like Brees, Jones doesn’t do anything flashy as a passer, but he’s accurate, and that’s one of the best qualities a quarterback can have. Also like Brees, Jones doesn’t have the biggest arm. He can get the ball down the field, but it’s not like he’s out there launching bombs.

That’s just fine because that’s not what the Saints did with Drew Brees. New Orleans runs a lot of slant plays and routes to get their playmakers, such as Michael Thomas, the ball. Just like Brees, Mac Jones excels at getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers.

Why not Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston?

So why would Mac Jones be a better option than Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston? Hill has shown the ability to be accurate. Last season, Hill threw 121 passes and completed 72.7% of them. You could make the same case for Hill as you can for Mac Jones when it comes to accuracy.

Do the Saints really want Hill as their full-time starting quarterback though? Hill has been an incredible weapon for the Saints since entering the league. He can throw, he can run, he can catch and so much more. He does so much for the Saints in so many areas. I don’t think the Saints want to take that component of their offense away. Could they still use Hill in other areas if he’s their starting quarterback? Sure, but would they really want to expose their starting quarterback to those types of hits? I doubt it.

Now let’s look at Jameis Winston. In five seasons as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston never took his team to the playoffs. As their starting quarterback, Winston had a record of 28-42. In the first season after Winston left Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl. What does that say about Jameis Winston? He’s not a winner. Is he really who the New Orleans Saints want leading their team?

Then there’s the accuracy issue. Jamies Winston has a career completion percentage of 61.4%. That’s well below Brees’ completion percentage. The last time we saw Jameis Winston as a full-time starting quarterback, he threw a league-leading 30 interceptions. 30! Winston hasn’t had one season as a starter where he’s thrown 10 interceptions or less. Even when Winston started only nine games in 2018, he threw 14 interceptions.

There’s a significant drop-off from Brees to Winston. The New Orleans Saints’ offense has been built on accuracy for years, and Jameis Winston just doesn’t bring that.

Should the New Orleans Saints target Mac Jones?

If Mac Jones is on the board when the Saints are on the clock or close to it, they should absolutely consider drafting him. Maybe it’s not ideal to draft a quarterback when you already have two guys competing for the starting spot. However, do the Saints really have faith in either Hill or Winston leading them to success going forward?

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None of these guys are Drew Brees, but of the three, Mac Jones is the most like him. Would there still be a transition with a rookie quarterback? Of course. Would that transition to a new quarterback be easier with a player who has very similar qualities to your old quarterback? Absolutely.

If the New Orleans Saints don’t feel like they can afford to go after another quarterback, I don’t blame them. I do think they’d be foolish to not at least consider targeting Mac Jones if he’s on the board when they make their pick.

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