Why Mac Jones could easily bounce back in the 2023 season
Soon to be third year quarterback Mac Jones could very easily bounce back from his rough sophomore season in the NFL and become the guy for the Patriots. While I have voiced a differing opinion on Mac Jones, there is still the chance that he bounces back and regains some of his rookie season form in 2023.
The New England Patriots’ best case scenario here is that Mac Jones turns into perhaps an elite pocket passer under Bill O’Brien and settles the starting quarterback job for years to come in New England.
There’s also a chance that Jones is unable to regain some of what he showed in his rookie season and fizzles out as a starter in the NFL.
Let’s take a look at some reasons why Jones can very easily bounce back in 2023 for the Patriots.
Why Mac Jones could easily bounce back in the 2023 season
They have a legitimate offensive coordinator now
Perhaps the most puzzling thing that any team did last year was when New England decided that a defensive coach in Matt Patricia would take the primary responsibility and call plays on offense. This led to a massive regression from all across the board and was the primary reason why the team did not succeed in 2022.
Bill O’Brien is a proven offensive mind, regardless of his disastrous tenure as the de-facto GM in Houston.
Bill O’Brien has QB development under his belt
Something that I have not seen talked about enough is the work that he did with Deshaun Watson. Surely, O’Brien had a good bit of input when the Texans took him in the draft and coaching Deshaun Watson to quickly become one of the more efficient QBs in football.
Also, just look at Watson’s starts in 2022. He clearly was not comfortable in the offense, so that could give even more proof that what O’Brien was doing was working quite a bit.
Could the same be done with Mac Jones? Sure, I don’t see why it isn’t possible.
Better coaching improves the entire unit
Let’s take a small focus away from Mac Jones and focus on what good coaching on offense can also do for the other position groups on offense. The offensive line was a disaster and the pass catchers all seemed to take a step back.
Well, do I need to lecture readers on how good coaching elevates entire teams? O’Brien may end up being an average OC, but the Patriots having an average offensive puts them in the playoffs in 2022. Just look at the swift turnaround that the New York Giants made in 2022.
That, ladies and gentlemen, was just how much good coaching can positively impact a team.
Patriots have cap space to fix the offense
The team is strapped with over $30 million in cap space and have avenues to create more if they wanted. The primary holes on the roster are on the offense, and the defense truly does not need a ton of work.
The Patriots could easily invest most of their cap space into the offense. They could sign tackles to start and perhaps for some depth, and they also have a first round pick they could use as well.
Tackle and wide receiver are their biggest issues on offense, and between the cap space and having a first round pick, they have quite a bit of resources to immediately fix each position.