Alabama Football: Mac Jones 2021 NFL Draft profile

What do you need to know about Alabama football’s Mac Jones?

The 2021 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and Alabama football players are at the forefront of the draft. While Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Patrick Surtain may be valued high, but Mac Jones may be the first Tide player drafted.

Here is Jones’s 2021 NFL Draft profile before he finds out where he is drafted.

Strengths

Mac Jones is the most accurate passer in this class. The statistics show that, but he also throws the ball with great touch. He anticipates well, and his high IQ helps him read defenses and make smart decisions. This helps him overcome physical limitations.

Jones is also a great leader. He was a pivotal piece to Alabama football’s undefeated season, and his leadership was a big part of that. His teammates trusted him, and he trusted them.

Weaknesses

On the field, Mac Jones isn’t as athletic as the other options. That doesn’t mean that he can’t succeed, but it does make him a bad fit in some schemes. He also doesn’t have the strongest arm, which lowers his ceiling.

He also has limited reps as a starter despite four seasons with Alabama football. In the past, teams would want at least two full seasons as a starting quarterback before drafting someone to be the face of the franchise, and Jones barely has one.

Many will also discount his success due to the talent around him, but that isn’t fair. Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa played with talent around them. If anything, Tagovailoa had more talent with last year’s team than Jones did this season. This can put his stats into question, but his traits are still there.

While Jones has grown from his mistakes, he still has a DUI in his past that can’t be forgotten.

Team fit

Mac Jones needs talent around him to succeed, and he needs a system that thrives on timing and a pocket presence. He can manipulate the pocket and occasionally scramble, but he should not be expected to win games with his legs.

That’s why many think that San Francisco is a perfect fit. Pairing him with weapons and an offensive mind will put him in the best situation to succeed.

If the 49ers pass on him, the Denver Broncos are the next likely landing spot. They are a quarterback away from competing. The Patriots would also make sense if he were to slide, but that is assuming that they want to go back to their old system. Mac Jones could thrive by doing what Tom Brady did in the past, but he would fail if he were to follow in Cam Newton’s footsteps.

It seems that San Francisco is the most likely landing spot for Mac Jones, and that would be a dream fit for him.