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New England Patriots: Mac Jones drawing praise after day one

By Sayre Bedinger

Jul 28, 2021; Foxborough, MA, United States; New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (50) during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2021; Foxborough, MA, United States; New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (50) during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New England Patriots opened their 2021 training camp and rookie QB Mac Jones had a very strong first day. Will he be their QB1 soon?

The New England Patriots have a first-round draft pick at the quarterback position on their roster. Considering how rare that is (never in the Bill Belichick era) it’s reasonable to expect Jones will be on the field sooner rather than later.

That is increasingly likely if he has more days like he did on day one of New England Patriots training camp.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1420401438602235906

Missing the postseason in 2020 did not sit well with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. What’s worse? They watched Tom Brady hoist the trophy after they essentially made no effort to keep him around after the 2019 season.

New England unleashed their bank account on the 2021 free agent market, bringing in a ton of players to make life easier on the quarterback, and the hope has to be that quarterback is Mac Jones sooner rather than later.

Jones had a solid all-around pro day in front of Belichick and Josh McDaniels at Alabama, but it was the progression he showed in 2020 that really earned him first-round status.

Playing as Tua Tagovailoa’s injury replacement in the 2019 season for the Crimson Tide, Jones certainly flashed his ability as a pocket passer, but he showed better pocket poise than anticipated in 2020, not quite to this level but sometimes reminiscent of the way we saw Joe Burrow masterfully navigate the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield and consistently making the right choice with the football.

Jones showed accuracy and velocity to all levels of the field with tremendous consistency. He certainly had no shortage of NFL-caliber teammates around him to distribute the ball to, but Jones helped those guys and those guys certainly helped him.

The New England Patriots will have a reasonable level of expectations for the 2021 season. The AFC East has a new champion in the Buffalo Bills and even if Jones plays well this season, the Patriots’ roster is not currently on par with Buffalo.

Still, the Patriots could be one of the seven AFC teams in the playoffs if Jones is the starter and plays smart football for them. He’s off to a strong start.

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