Bill Belichick, Patriots get their QB, Mac Jones, with a little patience in NFL draft – New England Patriots Blog
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Following months of speculation on the New England Patriots potentially making a daring go up the 2021 NFL draft board for their quarterback of the long run, coach Invoice Belichick performed it amazing and enable the draft appear to him.
Then Alabama’s Mac Jones dropped proper into his lap.
It is really a single of the rare situations when months of projection primary into a Belichick draft really developed an correct outcome. Jones was talked about as a Patriots likelihood all the way back again in January.
Again then, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay mentioned how Jones was “tremendous intelligent” with “pocket existence” and anyone who “feels points, anticipates, and will get the ball out.” People who abide by the Patriots know all those are core tenets of what they price. They usually are not looking as much for the quarterback who runs a four.four-second forty-lawn dash or will make off-system throws as much as a good choice-maker who is correct and enjoys football.
Then in February, previous Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis doubled down, indicating he thought Jones was the finest fit for the workforce.
“What are the two most important elements of a star quarterback? They have the ‘it’ issue. And they are correct. Which is who he was,” stated Weis, who pushed back again on the criticism Jones was a product of having NFL-caliber talent players all over him.
“You chat about staying all over good players. Yeah, he was all over good players. But participating in on a workforce with a bunch of stars, who is the leader of the offense? He also experienced to make all all those throws. I consider the child is an great quarterback. He has significantly less holes than just about anyone,” Weis stated.
So, Jones to the Patriots has been on the radar for some time, which isn’t really typically the way it performs with Belichick’s drafts. Predicting his targets is often a fruitless pursuit.
The wrinkle this calendar year, even so, is that the San Francisco 49ers’ daring trade up to No. three in late March arrived with a thirty day period of media speculation that it was for Jones. But when they drafted North Dakota’s Trey Lance as a substitute, the stars began to align once more.
Jones himself even observed it coming.
“At the finish of the working day, you sort of want to get the proper fit. I really feel like, secretly, I really wanted to go to the Patriots all along,” he stated late Thursday night. “So I am really really satisfied it happened.”
And now the query by natural means gets: How soon can the quarterback torch be handed in New England?
Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham have been attending voluntary offseason exercises at Gillette Stadium the earlier two months, with most of the talent-placement players also with them as some early chemistry is shaped. Jones has floor to make up, and he struck a humble tone Thursday night, indicating he designs to appear in driving Newton and Stidham and master from them.
But Belichick failed to pick Jones at No. 15 for him to be a backup, which signifies it really is only a make a difference of time.
“Cam’s our quarterback. What ever time Jarrett or Mac are all set to obstacle and contend, then we’ll see how that goes,” Belichick stated.