With each passing week, Mac Jones is looking more and more like a lock to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
And if you ask ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, the New England Patriots quarterback is close to being the best first-year player in the entire NFL, on either side of the ball.
Legwold on Wednesday released his latest rookie power ranking, and Jones come in at No. 2. Only Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons — taken three picks ahead of Jones in the 2021 NFL Draft — is ahead of the Alabama product.
“His team has won six games in a row and seven of the past eight after the Patriots opened the season at 1-4 when Jones was tossed into the deep end of the pool,” Legwold wrote. “He has learned on the go — he has thrown three interceptions over the past six games after six over the first eight. He has the best infrastructure around him of any of the rookie passers, and it shows, but his decision-making and penchant for getting the ball out on time has usually been spot on. Jones has four games over the past seven with six or fewer incompletions, and he has completed 70.3% of his passes overall.”
Jones will face arguably the toughest challenge of his professional career to date Monday night when the Patriots visit the Bills. If the 23-year-old lights it up in Buffalo — one of football’s toughest environments — Legwold might have to give him the No. 1 spot in the next ranking.
