New Patriots-49ers Mac Jones draft day rumor makes no sense

Once upon a time, prior to the Patriots securing their future in the 2021 NFL Draft, a series of 49ers-related rumors swirled that painted Mac Jones as a massive overpay rather than a perfect pick in the middle of the first round.

Jones at 15? Steal. Fell into New England’s lap.

Jones at three? According to draftniks, that could’ve been devastating. The series of so-called experts pulled out every flaw in the Alabama QB’s game once they thought there was a chance San Francisco was ready to risk it all to get him into their system.

Whether it was Jones, Trey Lance, or Justin Fields the Niners targeted, the one thing everyone could agree on, though, was that the team had a singular target in mind. According to a confusing update from Adam Schefter on Sunday morning, though, we might’ve been right all along when we advocated for chaos.

The selection of Lance marked the end of the confusion, and led directly to the Patriots unveiling a shiny new 23-year-old Week 1 starter.

But according to Schefty, the Niners’ draft-shaking trade was motivated by the suspicion the Patriots might be trading up to grab Jones at No. 3. Then, San Francisco proceeded to…not grab Jones at three? OK, you had us, then you lost us.

The 49ers gave it all up to block the Patriots from getting Mac Jones, then didn’t do that?

Lots of contingencies involved here.

According to Schefter’s reporting, San Francisco had a lot of suspicions about a New England-Jones connection that ultimately proved to be quite accurate. However, with a ticking clock over their shoulder, they did nothing about it.

"The 49ers considered the well-documented relationship between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban and knew that New England was doing legwork on the quarterback prospects in the draft. The Niners also believed at the time that Jones was the prospect the Patriots identified as their potential quarterback of the future.This belief contributed to the Niners completing the late-March trade that sent three first-round draft picks to the Miami Dolphins to move up to the No. 3 spot, which gave them the opportunity to draft Jones or any other quarterback they deemed worthy in that slot."

Belichick-Saban…the legwork on QBs coming from an unexpected source…Mr. Shanahan, you could’ve stopped the Patriots. They gave you all the clues.

Instead, once the pressure mounted, Niners brass apparently pivoted to the other main reason for their draft-shattering trade; the modus operandi wasn’t “get Jones,” but rather “set yourself up to pick your top choice from a stacked class”.

Somewhere along the way, after vaulting up the draft board, the 49ers decided they weren’t as interested in Jones as they were in Lance — but that shouldn’t diminish their genuine interest in the Pats’ signal caller.

But…if Trey Lance had been on the board for the Broncos instead of Justin Fields, would Denver have pivoted from Patrick Surtain II? Does anything really change if the Niners just stay put at 11 and decide they’d be satisfied with any one of the available options?

No way of knowing, but it certainly sounds like the Niners panicked in an effort to prevent something they eventually chose not to prevent.

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