Why Patriots Newcomer Loves What He’s Seen from Mac Jones

FOXBORO, Mass. — It hasn’t taken long for JuJu Smith-Schuster to see what many other Patriots players see in Mac Jones.

New England’s top offseason acquisition missed the bulk of spring practices but worked with Jones off the field throughout portions of the offseason. Smith-Schuster was a full participant over the first two days of Patriots training camp, catching a pair of touchdowns from Jones during Thursday’s session.

The on-field chemistry between Jones and Smith-Schuster will remain a work in progress. But the veteran receiver clearly believes New England’s offense is in capable hands.

“The guy is just super intelligent and his work ethic is the best,” Smith-Schuster said Thursday afternoon. “I’ve seen a lot of guys come into the office early, put in the work, leave late — and he’s one of those guys. The communication between me and him and a lot of the receivers… he speaks up.

“He sees what he sees and he talks about it. And that’s what’s great about us: There’s no gray area in this offense. We speak about it, we talk about it, we fix it. And then we move on.”

At this point, there doesn’t appear to be a quarterback competition in Foxboro. Jones has been the clear top quarterback since spring practices, with Bailey Zappe entrenched as the backup.

Could that eventually change? Sure. But for now, it’s a non-story.

Jones and the Patriots will practice again Friday before taking Saturday off. They’ll practice again Sunday through next Thursday.