Have the Patriots got to the point where they may be regretting drafting Mac Jones? One writer believes that may be the case.
To say Jones has had a bad sophomore season for New England would be the understatement of the year. We know at least one of his teammates agrees (looking at you, Trent Brown). The devastating self-inflicted loss against the Las Vegas Raiders seemingly has only made that more apparent as it was arguably the worst game of the signal caller’s career.
When looking back at the 2021 NFL Draft, where the Patriots selected Jones with the 15th overall pick, it’s hard to say if they would have gone anywhere other than the Alabama product seeing that their starting quarterback at the time was Cam Newton. People are quick to forget what Jones accomplished in his rookie season but with the clear step back this year, it’s hard to argue against those questioning the pick over a season later.
ESPN’s Matt Miller and Jordan Reid did a re-draft of the 2021 NFL Draft and let’s just say they thought New England should have skipped out on Jones for offensive line help instead.
Miller and Reid instead had the Patriots selecting Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, who went in the second round of the draft.
Here’s what Miller wrote about skipping out on Jones.
In my opinion, the Patriots’ offense isn’t that different with Bailey Zappe under center compared to Jones. In his two seasons, Jones has been solid but unspectacular. His Total QBR of 30.7 this season is 32nd of 33 qualified quarterbacks, and his career touchdown-to-interception ratio is 29-to-21. He’s a low-level NFL starter and won’t take this offense where it needs to go.
Fixing the offensive line and ensuring a strong front five is more important than finding a system quarterback in the first round. Humphrey — originally the 63rd pick — looks like the next Jason Kelce and is already an All-Pro caliber player. His 97.8% pass block win rate is No. 1 in the entire NFL across all OL positions over the past two seasons.
There’s no denying the jury still is out on Jones and what he can be as an NFL player with two incredibly different seasons to his name. We also know the Patriots’ offensive line certainly hasn’t been the best this season so maybe Miller is on to something here.
For those wondering, both Jones and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance were not selected in the 15-pick re-draft.
The Patriots will look to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas Eve.
