Nick Wright (Again) Questions Mac Jones’ NFL Potential With Patriots

Nick Wright shredded Mac Jones on several occasions during the quarterback’s rookie season, especially as the New England Patriots stumbled to the finish line before losing to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card round.

Now, it doesn’t appear Jones’ sophomore campaign will be any different.

Wright (again) called Jones’ NFL potential into question Tuesday on FS1’s “First Things First,” pointing to the second-year signal-caller’s status relative to other QBs across the AFC.

“If you look at the AFC this year, I was going to do a list of quarterbacks that are better than Mac Jones. It’s too long,” Wright said. “What are the AFC quarterbacks that anyone can say with any level of confidence Mac Jones is better than? I came up with two and a half: Tua (Tagovailoa), Mitch Trubisky and, even though it pains me because I do love this man’s neck, Davis Mills. There are three out of 16 quarterbacks in the conference that I am convinced Mac Jones is better than, and I’m iffy on Mills.

“And it’s, ‘Oh, that’s disrespectful.’ He’s clearly better than who? Ryan Tannehill? Matt Ryan? I don’t think he’s better than (Zach) Wilson or Trevor Lawrence. I guess we’ll see. But I came up with three. That’s why people are not as high on Mac as (Kevin) Wildes is.”

Jones (No. 15) was the fifth quarterback selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, behind Trevor Lawrence (No 1), Zach Wilson (No. 2), Trey Lance (No. 3) and Justin Fields (No. 11). He had the most immediate success, finishing as the runner-up to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, but it’ll be interesting to see whether the others close the gap in Year 2. Likewise, it’ll be fascinating to see whether Jones takes a step forward.

Jones was believed to have the highest floor but the lowest ceiling of the five aforementioned QBs in the 2021 NFL Draft, and Wright clearly isn’t sold on the Alabama product. The deck might be stacked against Jones in 2022, too, as it remains unclear who will call offensive plays for New England in wake of Josh McDaniels’ departure.