New England Patriots: Mac Jones was fast-tracked at OTAs
Redshirting rookie quarterbacks is not nearly as in style in today’s NFL as it once was, at least not for quarterbacks taken inside the top 15-20 picks. The New England Patriots have Cam Newton under contract for another year in 2021 after signing him in 2020, but will Newton even be the starter to open the 2021 season?
The Patriots were rumored to be interested in quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft, but because of what they had established in the 2020 season with Cam Newton, it made sense that they would be more interested in targeting one of the draft’s top dual-threat quarterbacks in either Trey Lance or Justin Fields.
Lance was out of the question as he went third overall to the aggressive San Francisco 49ers, but Fields dropped all the way to the 11th overall pick where the Chicago Bears made a move up the board to get him.
The New England Patriots, with the 15th overall pick in the draft, waited patiently for their opportunity to strike and wound up getting a guy many believe was the 49ers’ target at pick number three overall, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
New England Patriots putting Mac Jones on the fast track?
After taking Jones with the 15th overall pick, the question then became how long it would be before he took over as the team’s starting quarterback.
Newton didn’t play so well in 2020 that we can put his name in Sharpie for the 2021 season, and Jones was considered one of the more NFL-ready guys coming out this year by scouts and analysts.
So much for Bill Belichick shaking his head in displeasure after a missed deep ball at Mac Jones’ pro day…
Don’t take this the wrong way, but Jones is much more of the Tom Brady-type at the quarterback position and it’s easy to see the connection and fit between he and the Patriots. Coming from the Nick Saban-coached Alabama program, Jones is going to get the culture that’s been established in New England for more than two decades under Bill Belichick.
At OTAs, the Patriots apparently put Jones on the fast track toward potentially starting, according to NFL.com’s Mike Giardi.
An injury for Newton certainly helped Jones get additional reps, and the rookie won’t be wearing a linebacker’s number for much longer.
What Jones excelled at with the Crimson Tide was accuracy, efficiency, making correct reads and decisions with the football, and making consistently on-target throws from the pocket.
Those are some of the same things that Newton struggled with last season as the former league MVP had just eight touchdown passes in 15 games.
The Patriots’ passing attack has to take a step forward in 2021, and Jones is going to get every shot in training camp to prove that he’s the guy to help them do exactly that.