Mac Jones pick gives Patriots fans what they’ve been missing: hope
By Noah Green
It has been over a year since Tom Brady announced that after 20 seasons with the Patriots, he would be leaving New England.
However, to Pats fans, it never really felt like the post-Tom Brady era had begun in New England until Thursday Night.
The Patriots replaced Brady in 2020 with a 31-year-old Cam Newton (but an old 31) with more injury history than playoff history to his name. Backing him up was 2019 fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham who, in his limited time on the field in 2020, threw more INTs than TDs.
Fans were ready for the new era of Patriots football, but had no one to look forward to at the QB position for the future. That changed Thursday night when Bill Belichick did what he does best: stayed patient, didn’t trade up, and let Mac Jones fall into his lap at the 15th pick.
Mac Jones gives Patriots fans hope at pick No. 15.
Once Trey Lance went to San Francisco with the third overall pick, Belichick had an opportunity to trade up to 11th pick to select Ohio State QB Justin Fields.
Although, like the Bears, the Patriots would have most likely had to give up two first-round picks, one fourth-round pick, and one fifth-round pick in order to do so.
As hilarious as trading up with Dave Gettleman would’ve been…no deal.
Giants trade: Pick 11
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 30, 2021
Bears trade: Pick 20, 164, 2022 first-round pick and 2022 fourth-round pick.
Of course, the possibility of Justin Fields in a Patriots uniform was the prettier picture in Pats fans’ minds during the night of the draft.
Fields better represents the trajectory of recent NFL QBs than Mac Jones, running a 4.44 40-yard dash time while still being able to launch a 65-yard dime down the field. This type of dual-threat QB seems to be the future of the NFL, but all Pats fans remember what QB won the Super Bowl in 2021, and how mobile he is.
Belichick made it very clear in recent weeks that Cam Newton is “still our quarterback.” Sitting behind the veteran for however long is necessary will give Mac an opportunity to learn the extremely complicated Josh McDaniels offense. It’s a process many teams have used to produce Super Bowl-winning QBs such as Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.
Jones brings an incredibly accurate arm and poise at the QB position, throwing for 4,500 passing yards, an NCAA record 77.4% completion percentage, and 41 touchdown passes during his final year at Alabama.
More importantly, he brings a National Championship ring and a culture that New England has been missing for over a year now: winning.
Mac may not be as mobile or physically gifted as the other four other QBs that were drafted in the first round Thursday night. Nevertheless, Patriots fans can finally look at their QB and have hope for the post-Tom Brady era in New England.
In addition to his physique coming out of college, Jones shares with Brady a sign of hope that a winning culture may be returning to New England.