Last night, with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected QB Mac Jones, out of Alabama. Here's my breakdown of the pick.
First off, it is a great pick. Although we could have traded up for Fields, Belichick knew that Jones was falling down the board, and that we would be able to get him at 15.
Now is Mac a perfect prospect? No, not at all. But he has potential to be great, and he has a lot of traits that a NFL QB would need. After watching some film breakdowns, here are my thoughts on him.
Pros:
He is very consistently accurate. He makes throws that aren't very simple look simple. He can make practically any throw, and make those throws 9 times out of 10.
He is good at reading a defense, pre snap and during the play. He can tell where DBs are gonna be, and uses it to his advantage.
He has great anticipation on routes. He knows if when his receivers are gonna be open, so he is able to throw it at the perfect time to get the ball right where it has to be, when it has to be there.
He's an underrated runner. Now by no means is he a run first type QB, but he can pick up a first down with his legs when he has to.
He is elusive in the pocket. He is able to shrug off rushers, get away from the pressure, and make a throw when he has to. I also expect this skill to develop as he works and watches Cam.
He's great at luring DBs away with pump fakes. He can really catch them off guard to make an even bigger throw than what it originally seemed.
He has a 4.0 GPA. Doesn't mean much but it's always good to have somebody smart running your offense.
He has great touch on his throws. He can get the ball up right to where it needs to be, and can adjust how he throws depending on the situation.
He is typically accurate under pressure, which helps solve some questions. With his offensive line consisting of 5 NFL Caliber lineman, people might have been worried about how he did with a normal O-Line.
Cons:
Not his fault, but he was playing with NFL caliber player, against college students.
He has some character concerns. Has been arrested twice for DUIs, and was caught wearing a racist outfit depiction of Barack Obama.
He usually will stare down his receiver, and not pay attention to anybody else, which would lead to sacks and missed chances at easy yards and points.
He'll throw the ball very weirdly at times, almost like a baseball pitcher pitching. Rarely happens, but is weird.
He doesn't have wow-ing arm strength, has just enough to get the job done.
Again, not really his fault, but in that Alabama System, 34% of his pass attempts were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
He isn't very athletic. Although he can get out of the pocket at times, that's really about it.
So as good of a prospect as Mac is, he obviously has some problems that he has to fix. But he has the potential to be a top QB in the league, which you just gotta love.
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