Scouting Report

​

Mac Jones has to be one of the most overrated players in the 2021 NFL draft. While Jones had insane numbers his senior year, that can be accredited to the best offensive line in college football, three first round skill players on the offense, and the greatest coach in college football history. Jones doesn’t fit the mold of a modern day passer and will live as a backup in the NFL. Jones lacks arm strength, mobility, and poise against the blitz. Jones isn’t this extremely accurate passer that just tears up defenses, in reality he is just a good decision maker that doesn’t throw the ball into harms way. Jones is a subpar deep passer that lacks physical toughness. His talent is on par with a day three pick, but will go earlier in the draft because of his numbers and where he played at. 

Jones’ best trait is his decision making. He rarely will put the ball into harms way which is why he only had four interceptions in his championship season. As a passer, his ability to throw with touch sets him apart. He does a great job at putting the ball over the linebacker and under the safety. Jones is smart, he played in a sophisticated offense and he thrived with run pass options (RPO’s). Jones does a good job pre-snap at finding his mismatches and is great in the quick game. Jones won’t miss wide open receivers and will throw the ball accurately downfield if his receivers don’t have anyone around them. At times Jones showed his deep accuracy, but the very next play his arm would just die on him. His inconsistencies downfield is one of the reasons why he will be a career backup in the NFL.

For quarterbacks who lack arm strength, mobility can usually bail them out. That isn’t the case for Jones. Jones is stiff in the pocket and had a whopping 14 rushing yards on the season. Jones gets flustered against the blitz and looks like a deer in head lights when he has to make an off-script play. In an era with passers like Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Matthew Stafford, teams should not settle for a player like Mac Jones. Jones lacks velocity on his passes and his feet look frantic under pressure. Jones is a low floor, low ceiling player who doesn’t deserve to be mentioned as a first round pick. 

Realistically a good comparison for Jones is former Alabama QB AJ McCarron. McCarron is a little more mobile than Jones, but they are both good decision makers who thrive in the short passing game. Like McCarron, I see Jones as a career back up. Jones should be able to stay in the league because of the success he had with Nick Saban and what his numbers were in college, but he won’t be a franchise quarterback. Jones is going to be over drafted and will struggle in the NFL.