Alabama Football: Patriot’s new deal for Cam does not rule out Mac Jones

Alabama Football: new England is bringing Cam Newton back for another season, but the decision does not affect the Pats’ chances to draft Mac Jones.

Former Alabama Football quarterback, Mac Jones generates a wide range of NFL opinions. The range is Jones can be a future NFL star, to becoming a mid-level starter, to being a career backup. There are two primary reservations about Mac’s future NFL career. One is he played in an Alabama Football system many quarterbacks would have thrived in. A big part of that concern is the Crimson Tide had so much talent on offense, Jones was only rarely under duress.

The other negative rap on Mac is average athletic ability. He is not very mobile and while accurate, his arm strength is a question. If those concerns are legitimate, there are quarterbacks with more NFL potential likely to be drafted above Mac.

Many NFL Draft experts project five quarterbacks will be selected in the 2021 first round. There is debate over whether Mac will be the fourth or fifth chosen. The general consensus is Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Zack Wilson will be drafted ahead of Jones. Either Mac or North Dakota State QB, Trey Lance is projected as the fourth QB selected. Some NFL Draft experts believe Mac will not drop below the No. 8 pick, to the Carolina Panthers.

Too many teams above New England need a quarterback for the Patriots to be confident Mac Jones will be available at pick No. 15. Many New England fans have hoped the Pats would go big and trade up to get a top QB. Trading up is atypical for Bill Belichick.

The Pats could have chosen to compete in the free-agent market. Instead, the decision was to sign Cam Newton to another one-year deal. It was a smart move. Cam had a tough first season with the Pats. Only some of the blame should be assigned to him. The Pats will be better in 2021 with healthy wide receivers and some help on the offensive line. As a result, Newton will be better.

Alabama football fans do not like the idea of Mac Jones being an understudy to Cam. Few Tide fans will ever like anything about the former Auburn quarterback. But a year of development, before being thrown into the NFL-starter fire would be perfect for Mac Jones.

The Pats may have to move up to get Mac. This assessment of Mac’s weaknesses indicates the Pats trading up for him would be unwise.

"Jones is not athletic and is essentially a statue in the pocket, displaying zero escapability when pressured. He mainly threw from a clean pocket all season and was able to step assuredly into his downfield passes. Jones competes with average arm strength, while compensating with anticipation and pre-snap reads of the defense. Jones manages better when facing man concepts and struggles noticeably when zone coverages are used. He’s a limited product, but, teams will know what they’re buying before they select him."

If that is accurate, the Pats might wait until the second round for a QB. Bill Belichick and Nick Saban are great talent evaluators. The Pats’ coach might view Mac more favorably.

"Jones is a more than capable signal caller who can deftly decipher most defenses and choose the right matchup to exploit in his team’s favor. He releases with purposeful touch and rarely puts his receivers in harm’s way when throwing contested passes. He’s decisive and wastes little time getting the ball into his playmakers’ hands. Jones’ delivery and arm motion is concise and efficient making his passes easy for receivers to pick up, adjust to and catch without difficulty. He had a phenomenal season completing 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Jones is a proven leader and winner"

Assuming both the negative and positive opinions cited above have degrees of truth, the question for New England is how much Mac can be developed. Reducing his weaknesses and maximizing his strengths during a season as Newton’s backup would be a sound plan.

The 2021 NFL Draft could have six former Alabama football players selected in the first round. Three or four more former Crimson Tide players could be drafted in the second and third rounds.