NFL execs give scouting report on Mac Jones after Alabama QB's Pro Day

Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and BYU's Zach Wilson are expected to be the first two quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. After those two, it's unclear which QB will be taken third. Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Trey Lance are candidates to be the next passer taken, but nothing is certain. 

Jones participated in Alabama's first Pro Day last week and is expected to throw again on Tuesday. Before his second session, several NFL executives gave their scouting reports on Jones, via Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer:

"I thought he did really well. I thought he threw the ball well, his accuracy was obvious. He had couple misses early, where you could see how competitive he is. He has a stronger arm than people think, he's better athlete than people think. And the testing numbers show he's a better athlete than people think," one NFL executive told Breer. "His movement in drills show it, he threw the ball well on the run.… It seems like he has a presence to him. The drawbacks may be thinking he's a one-year guy, and there are the arguments on the talent around him. But nobody made those comments on [Joe] Burrow, right? I love Burrow, but he had a lot of good players around him.… I think Jones is a good player. I don't think he's elite. But he had good moments, and you saw at all year and at the pro day, the stage isn't too big for him."

"He threw fine at the pro day, most guys do.… Athletically he's just average. He fits into the pocket-passer category. Had enough arm strength, ball placement was a little off on some throws, but he's very accurate, he showed a lot of that on film.… The guys love him. You heard ex-teammates chose him over Tua," an AFC executive said. "He definitely has an outgoing personality, you could see him cheering his guys on.… If anything, you worry about the lack of athleticism, when he has to create on his own, and he's not throwing to first-round receivers all over the place.… He's not an upper-echelon athlete. Tom Brady isn't either, but he compensates with anticipation, accuracy, experience. Mac will have to develop that."

Some around the NFL are convinced the San Francisco 49ers moved up in the draft to select Jones, even former general manager Mike Tannenbaum. However, he's listed on many mock drafts behind Fields and Lance, so it's unclear what San Francisco might be thinking. 

If Jones is the third QB taken, it'd be higher than expected, but he looks like a franchise quarterback in a lot of scouts' eyes after a 2020 season that ended with the Crimson Tide winning the college football championship.