Quote:
Originally Posted by Megatron96
Serious question: how did Mac jones post the numbers he did in college, and then continue to post near-top-10 QBR/Passer Rating stats with no weapons in 2021? Did he just get lucky, or does he actually have some talent?
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Besides their other receivers, Alabama had Devonte Smith having an incredible year and Alabama had a great offensive line.
In 2021 Mac Jones had much better pass catching weapons on offense than Cam Newton had in 2020 or Brady had in 2019 or even during his Patriots career before Moss/Welker. In 2020 offseason, Patriots spent a ton of money that year on FA receivers/TEs. They may have only gotten a C+ return for all of that spending and offensive line wasn't that consistent but the amount of spending on skill position players was so high that Mac Jones was throwing to above average talent that year. Patriots had a soft schedule that year from missing playoffs in 2020 and ran up the score in several games.
Mac Jones his rookie year was very good at throwing the ball to the middle of the field when given a reasonable amount of time. That is pretty much all of what he can do at an above average level for an NFL starter so defenses figured that out near the end of his rookie year and he wasn't nearly as effective. He clearly played favorites and a receiver like Nelson Agholor was open a lot more than Mac Jones accurately delivered him the ball.
I wish Jones luck in Jacksonville. With some genuine improvement, he can still be a good NFL starter but it was time for New England to move on.