Patriots: 3 players Mac Jones is outperforming who were picked ahead of him

The New England Patriots might not be blowing the doors off of their rivals with a high-octane offense, but they have to be very impressed with the play of Mac Jones.

Throwing five touchdowns and five interceptions isn’t tremendous, but he has completed 71% of his passes. That clearly stands out.

New England is 2-3 this season, though they are a Damien Harris fumble and Nick Folk missed field goal away from potentially being 4-1 and firmly in the postseason picture.

Jones has shown that he can efficiently operate New England’s game plan, which can’t be said of all rookie quarterbacks so far this season.

The Patriots were able to snag a potential franchise quarterback at No. 15 overall without having to trade up to get him. Considering some of the starts of the players drafted in front of him, New England has to be pleased with the way he’s played so far.

These three rookies were all picked before Jones, but considering how they have played in their first handful of games, it’s safe to say that the Patriots aren’t exactly full of buyer’s remorse at the moment.

3 highly-touted rookies that Patriots QB Mac Jones is outperforming.

3. Devonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Smith is on pace for around 1,000 yards this season, but with a good chunk of his yards coming against a tissue-thin Chiefs defense in an offense that throws the ball on basically every play, Smith’s production might not be as impressive as the raw box score numbers will indicate.

Jones’ ex-teammate, who won the Heisman over him last season, had five catches for 40 yards in a two-game span against San Francisco and Dallas. He’ll be fine in the NFL, as he has tremendous hands and route-running skills, but Pats fans who were hoping for a receiver like Smith to come to town in the draft may not be regretting the Jones selection.

Patriots QB Mac Jones might have a better long-term outlook than Devonta Smith.

If the Eagles are still skeptical of Jalen Hurts and his ability to be a franchise quarterback, they had a golden opportunity to add one of five young quarterbacks to their roster this year. They passed and went with Smith, and there is a chance that by the end of the season, some within that organization regret that decision.

The Patriots spent their money on skill position players and their draft capital on a young quarterback, a strategy that is becoming more and more commonplace in the modern NFL given the rookie contract scale. The Patriots are tied to Jones for the next few seasons, while the Eagles have a solid receiver in Smith and a whole boatload of questions.

2. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

Waddle has been getting fed a steady diet of receptions early in his career, but he’s mostly been used for his ability to create after the catch. He has totaled 17 catches in the last three games, but he has just 122 yards to show for it. Considering how he was used when Jones was at Alabama, this is a sharp change.

Waddle was a deep threat that could sprint down the field and turn the game into a track meet, routinely ending up on the receiving end of Jones’ downfield passes. In Miami, they’re trying to turn their No. 6 pick, who isn’t playing as well as his former teammate and No. 10 pick Smith, into Tavon Austin.

Jaylen Waddle has been more volatile than Patriots QB Mac Jones.

The Patriots didn’t try to plug a square peg in a round hole and run the Cam Newton offense or the Tom Brady scheme. They found that Jones can get the ball out quickly and accurately, and they’re using that to their advantage by turning this offense into a West Coast attack that gets the ball out of his hands fast.

Miami, meanwhile, isn’t tailoring their offense to use the No. 6 pick in the best way possible, and that’s an issue considering that he was supposed to be the big piece that turned this offense around.

Drafting Jones after selecting Tua Tagovailoa obviously was not going to happen, but through the first few weeks, the old Crimson Tide gunslinger is adapting to the pros better than his old wide receiver.

1. Zach Wilson, QB, New York Jets

Four touchdown passes and nine interceptions don’t even begin to describe how bad Wilson has been. In a two-game stretch against New England and Denver, Wilson didn’t throw one touchdown and was picked off six times. Jets fans have to be concerned about his accuracy issues as well.

Wilson completed just under 74% of his passes during his final year at BYU while averaging 11 yards per attempt. Compare that to his 57% completion percentage and 6.5 yards per attempt this year, which have been artificially inflated by Wilson stat-padding near the end of games that have long since been decided.

Patriots QB Mac Jones is playing better than Zach Wilson.

Jones isn’t setting rookie records, but he is effectively executing Josh McDaniels’ offense and avoiding turnovers at a rate that Wilson and Trevor Lawrence haven’t been able to match yet. Wilson is a net negative for the Jets so far this season, while Jones has kicked the passing game up a notch.

Lawrence has impressed in spurts, but he’s surrounded by a mess in Jacksonville. Wilson is taking his lumps as a rookie, and both Trey Lance and Justin Fields haven’t played enough to warrant a thorough evaluation. Jones is having the best beginning to the 2021 season of all these rookie quarterbacks.

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