Julian Edelman has some harsh words about Patriots' QB Mac Jones
A key piece of the New England Patriots' dynasty, Julian Edelman, recently had some very harsh words about third-year QB Mac Jones and his recent struggles. It seems as though some within the Patriots' realm are beginning to see the truth when it comes to Mac Jones.
This time, the long-time Patriot and Super Bowl champion, Julian Edelman, had some words about the struggles of Mac Jones on The Ryen Russillo Podcast. Edelman knows all about playing with an elite QB. He played with Tom Brady from 2009-2020 and amassed 6,822 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns.
Edelman was also known for how well he played in the postseason. He caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns. Anyway, Edelman seems to agree with the notion that Mac Jones is struggling and perhaps not the franchise QB that some think he is.
Here's what he recently had to say on the podcast:
"“This is a quarterback league,” Edelman said. “You have to have a quarterback that fits your system to win games. Look at all the good teams. They all have good quarterbacks. And right now Mac hasn’t been developing at the rate that they want... Billy O’Brien, I guarantee he’s looking at everything (Josh) McDaniels did, he’s looking at everything that Mac is comfortable with, and he’s still having rookie-type throws.”
- Julian Edelman
“Ultimately, it comes down to Mac Jones. You can put a lot of it on the offensive line — that he doesn’t have time — but you can’t go out and do what he did. That was bad football,” Edelman said. “You can’t throw late across the field twice in four plays. The first time he got away with it... you can’t do that. You can tell Mac’s a little — he’s feeling it right now, because he’s missing open reads early. He’s tunneled into guys that he feels comfortable with.
“He’s very out of sync right now, and it was bad. You’ve gotta take care of the football. Bill’s gonna preach that. ‘Guys, we need to take care of the football.’ Because once you start doing that, that team’s not designed, the Patriots aren’t designed to play from behind. They just can’t do it.”"
I think Jules has preached some unfortunate and uncomfortable truths about the current state of the New England Patriots. This is a roster that is weak all across the offense, including the QB. They really aren't constructed to play from behind as Jules said, and their playmakers don't really scare anyone.
And to add insult to injury, the QB is nothing special. At some point, unless Mac Jones has a miraculous turnaround, some may have to come to grips with the idea that the Patriots might be better off looking to a different direction to try and find their franchise QB.
The team may have a viable option or two in free agency next year, and they'll also have a ton of money to spend if they wanted to chase a FA, perhaps someone like Kirk Cousins. The trade market may also have a QB or two that might be available, so perhaps the franchise might want to go that route.
However, I think the most likely route for them to take is to take someone with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That will surely yield the best long-term results for the team if the coaching staff can develop that QB.