Armed with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots face an interesting decision on Mac Jones. He’s gearing up for his fourth season in the NFL after going No. 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but New England is in position to potentially take one of the top quarterbacks on the board this year.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots “appear open to trading” Jones and have received calls from teams about him.
Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie out of Alabama, throwing for 3,801 yards and 2022 touchdowns. Things didn’t go as well after that, though, as he struggled to an 8-17 record over the last two seasons.
New England underwent major changes this offseason, parting ways with head coach Bill Belichick and naming Jerod Mayo as his replacement. With so many changes, Rapoport said it could make sense for the franchise to start over entirely at the quarterback position – especially considering the amount of talent in this year’s draft.
With the No. 3 pick, the Patriots could wind up selecting Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye, depending on how the draft board shakes out. That would not only allow them to reset the rookie contract, but also allow another team to make the decision on Jones’ fifth-year option.
Ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. projected the Patriots to select Maye in his Mock Draft 2.0. He and Field Yates then discussed what needed to happen in New England for a rookie quarterback to succeed, and Kiper argued the franchise needed to make sure it put Maye – or whomever they pick – in a good position.
That didn’t necessarily happen with Jones, who played for three different play-callers in three years.
“You just hope that they will build that offensive line up, get some receivers. They hung Mac Jones out to dry. They didn’t give Mac Jones a fighting chance,” Kiper said. “If you go Drake Maye here? You’ve got to develop and build that offensive line. you’ve got to get some weapons around him. Hopefully they handle the situation in terms of the talent around Drake Maye a lot better than they did with Mac Jones.
“You’ve got to hope that Drake Maye can be that guy. The only way he will be is for the organization to do what they need to do. Which is what everybody needs to do – help your quarterback out, don’t forget about him. Drake Maye is a lot more talented than Mac. But every quarterback needs some assistance up front, unless you’re (Patrick) Mahomes who can win with anybody.”
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