3 aggressive goals for New England Patriots’ Mac Jones in 2022
Mac Jones is going to have a ton of attention on his play in 2022, and rightfully so. To prove doubters wrong, he should strive for new heights in year two. While many are predicting that Mac Jones has a breakout season, some are also predicting that he may take a step back because of the Patriots’ current offensive situation.
It looks like Matt Patricia, a defensive coach, is going to call plays for the team in 2022. Josh McDaniels departed for Las Vegas, leaving the Patriots without an offensive coordinator, and I guess it was too easy for the team to simply hire one to replace him.
Now that we have a mostly clear picture of how the Patriots will look on offense in 2022, let’s set some aggressive goals for Mac Jones for the new season.
Goal One for Mac Jones in 2022: 30 touchdown passes
Back in the day, quarterbacks weren’t really lighting up the stat sheet all that much. Now, it’s commonplace. We continually see signal callers hit the 30, 35, or even 40 touchdown mark with ease. For young quarterbacks who are still not fully developed into the NFL, achieving these numbers could be hard work, but Mac Jones could do it.
He passed for 22 touchdowns in his first season, and should have an improved cast of players to throw to, highlighted by DeVante Parker’s acquisition from the Miami Dolphins. Perhaps Parker, along with other solid weapons like Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Henry, and Kendrick Bourne, can help elevate Mac Jones to the 30 touchdown milestone.
Here’s the thing with the Patriots’ offense; they have a lot of good players, but they don’t have that unquestioned, gamebreaking player like many teams in the NFL do. It’s a deep offense, but having a bunch of good players might not cut it in 2022.
Goal Two for Mac Jones in 2022: Become a legitimate MVP candidate
Some people are this high on Mac Jones for 2022. They think he can win an MVP in year two, and in all honestly, it can happen until it doesn’t. There have been some quarterbacks who have taken that year two leap recently.
Players like Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson have all made huge year two leaps in the NFL. Players like Kyler Murray made smaller but still noticeable leaps, and other guys like Justin Herbert were already legit in year one. My point here is that we have seen a ton of quarterbacks in recent history show their talent and efficiency in only year two, and Mac Jones has the work ethic and knowledge to do so.
He’s not the most athletic by far, but he’s got the ability to make every throw on the field, and is still on the New England Patriots, who are still coached by the greatest to ever do it. I don’t think Mac Jones becoming an MVP candidate in year two is out of the question.
Goal Three for Mac Jones in 2022: Win double digit games again
The AFC got significantly better this offseason, which is wild considering how deep it’s been the past couple seasons. The Chargers added a ton of defensive talent, the Broncos added Russell Wilson, the Raiders added Chandler Jones and Davante Adams, the Dolphins added a ton of talent on offense, and the Colts brought in Matt Ryan.
It’s been an arms race in the conference, and the Patriots don’t have a signature move that many of the other teams had. In fact, their offseason has been OK, at best. However, if Mac Jones wants to prove that he belongs in the loaded AFC, leading the New England Patriots do another double digit win season, which would include a playoff berth, is a good first step.
It would be a monumental task, as the Patriots would have to overcome constantly being the less talented team on gamedays, but they have the best coach in NFL history and a quarterback that perhaps some people are counting out.
Even a 9-8 season would be impressive in this conference from the Patriots, but a double digit win season + a playoff berth would truly show the rest of the NFL that Money Mac Jones is that dude.