Patriots' interest in Mac Jones reportedly influenced 49ers to trade up to No. 3

The San Francisco 49ers might have been interested in Mac Jones at some point this offseason, after all. 

Concern that the New England Patriots could move up for Jones was "one of the many reasons" the 49ers traded up to the No. 3 spot in this year's draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Niners were reportedly wary about the relationship between Bill Belichick and Jones' former college coach at Alabama, Nick Saban. San Francisco also knew the Patriots were scouting quarterbacks and believed Jones was the signal-caller they had their sights on. 

The 49ers' goal was to find a franchise quarterback in this year's draft and the team looked at multiple candidates. The club eventually traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for the No. 3 pick and selected Trey Lance. Jones ended up sliding to the Patriots at No. 15. 

This season, Lance is not starting for the 49ers, with Jimmy Garoppolo set to begin the year as QB1. Jones, meanwhile, was named New England's starting quarterback after the club released veteran signal-caller Cam Newton earlier this week. 

At this point, there's no telling whether Lance or Jones will be better. However, the latter had the highest-graded preseason by a rookie quarterback since 2013, per Pro Football Focus, and had a very impressive summer overall. 

Still, preseasons don't determine how well a quarterback will perform when it matters, so only time will tell if the 49ers made the right decision in drafting Lance over Jones.