Mac Jones enters his second NFL campaign with the New England Patriots still having much to prove after an impressive rookie season.
Jones, who clearly has slimmed down and looks the part, has gained the respect and admiration of his teammates with many believing there are big things in store for the 2021 first-round pick.
Another who seems to believe Jones is in line for a breakout campaign is former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum depicted that notion by mentioning Jones as a "sneaky" NFL MVP candidate during an appearance Wednesday on ESPN's "Get Up."
"Mac Jones. This is an offense in 2021 that averaged more points than the Tom Brady-led 2020 New England Patriots. So, from a standpoint of, they have actually improved since Mac Jones took over," Tannenbaum explained. "They were sixth in the league in points, they went to the playoffs. I think he has high character. They got two really good running backs, two really good tight ends. This is more of a wide receiver by committee. I really like Mac Jones."
Tannenbaum would go on to call Jones a "young superstar" while further assessing the Patriots entering the 2022 season.
The dark horse qualifier certainly does make sense for Jones.
The Alabama product has 60-to-1 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2022 NFL MVP award. There are 20 players with better prices to win than Jones including a fair share of would-be-shockers in Trey Lance, Tua Tagovailoa and a pair of running backs in Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry. Jones, in fact, has the same prices as two receivers -- Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel -- to win the award which is widely believed to be a quarterback honor.
Jones might have one thing holding him back this season, though, and that's New England's offensive play-calling. The Patriots have yet to announce who will be calling plays in wake of Josh McDaniels' departure, and there are some who question if Bill Belichick would be successful at doing so.
