Patriots

Matthew Slater explained how Mac Jones stands out compared to prior teammates

"This kid is very serious about what he's doing."

By Conor Roche

November 27, 2021

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As the Patriots have won five straight games, rookie quarterback Mac Jones has received praise from all over the NFL world. Coaches, ex-players, and analysts have all touted Jones’s accuracy and decision-making in recent weeks.

The longest-tenured Patriots player is also impressed by Mac Jones. But not just for his on-the-field play. Matthew Slater shared how Jones has stood out compared to several other teammates during his 14 seasons in New England.

“This kid is very serious about what he’s doing. He spends more time in this building than a lot of guys I can ever remember here,” Slater told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I can’t believe how quickly he’s developed, as far as his understanding of the things we’re trying to do here — and that’s not just offensively. I’m talking about overall culture.”

So far, Jones has stood out the best compared to his fellow rookie quarterbacks. He’s the only one who has a winning record at 7-4 and he’s also standing out in the stat sheet. Jones’s 2,540 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, and 94.7 passer rating are all the best among rookies so far this season.

By playing the best among the rookies, Jones has also stacked up well compared to the rest of the league. For instance, his 70.2 completion percentage is the second-best in the league and he’s graded out as the fourth-best quarterback in football this season by Pro Football Focus.

A lot of Jones’s volume stats rank in the middle-of-the-pack as he’s 12th in passing yards and tied for 15th in passing touchdowns – which appears to be good enough for the Patriots.

As for the comments from Slater, Jones must appreciate them after jokingly calling him “the even older man” in a word association video on Friday.