Nick Wright Calls Patriots’ Mac Jones ‘Delusional’ Over Recent Comment

Nick Wright has serious doubts about Mac Jones ahead of the quarterback’s third season with the New England Patriots.

Jones recently told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer he hopes to bring back “Alabama Mac,” a version of himself that plays free and slings the football without thinking too much. The approach served him well at the University of Alabama, where Jones finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and won the national championship in his final season with the Crimson Tide.

But Wright simply can’t envision Jones ever replicating that success. Jones’ first two seasons in New England featured both highs and lows.

“The idea that Mac Jones thinks there will be another moment of his football life that is anything like Alabama is delusional,” Wright said this week on FS1’s “First Things First.”

“The idea that Mac Jones thinks there will be another moment of his football life that is anything like Alabama is delusional.”

— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/Jau8GvrdLo

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) August 22, 2023

This isn’t Wright’s first time questioning Jones’ potential. And it probably won’t be the last, especially if Jones and the Patriots continue to struggle offensively in 2023 after a disastrous 2022 on that side of the ball.

There’s reason for optimism in New England, with Bill O’Brien returning as offensive coordinator, but there still are questions about Jones’ supporting cast. For one, the Patriots lack an elite wide receiver, whereas Jones had an abundance of weapons at his disposal during his time at Alabama.

“Six, 10, 12, 15, 24, 44,” Wright said. “That is the picks of the draft of the guys Mac Jones was throwing to his year and a half playing (at Alabama).”

The names Wright referred to: Jaylen Waddle (No. 6, 2021), DeVonta Smith (No. 10, 2021), Henry Ruggs III (No. 12, 2020), Jerry Jeudy (No. 15, 2020), Najee Harris (No. 24, 2021) and John Metchie III (No. 44, 2022).

Obviously, that’s a loaded group. And Jones won’t have the luxury of throwing passes to upper-echelon talent this season in New England, even if the Patriots’ receiving corps improves thanks to the arrival of JuJu Smith-Schuster and/or the emergence of a young wideout like Tyquan Thornton, Demario Douglas or Kayshon Boutte.

But it’s probably still too early to make a full evaluation of Jones’ NFL ceiling — unless, of course, you’re Nick Wright and just totally out on the third-year QB.