San Francisco 49ers Draft Watch 2021: The Case for Michael McCorkle “Mac” Jones
By Christian Liliedahl-Allen
Twitter: @ctrainstation
In this brand new series, I will outline how some top prospects might fit on the 49ers. There is a high probability that they will draft a quarterback with their first rounder (#3 overall), so let’s check out the prospects, starting with Alabama QB Mac Jones. Let’s take a look!
Positive traits:
- Although you might not think so from the picture posted below, Mac Jones comes from a family of athletes. His brother, sister and father were all college athletes (not in football, but nevertheless). His family comprises of former college athletes, so there’s that.
- Mac Jones started playing football at age 5 (!) and has solely played football his entire life. This is important when looking into the DNA of a QB. He doesn’t have issues throwing the football like a baseball, because he has only played football! Tom Brady once said something to the effect of “ Football is a set game with set rules. It is only natural that one improves at the game over time.” I totally agree with this statement, and it holds true for Jones. All of his muscle memory harkens back to football. This is an intangible ( you will hear that a lot with regards to Jones) that cannot be taught; one cannot (yet) go back in time and imprint the fundamentals onto an athlete from a young age. You either have it, or you don’t. Jones has it.
- Accuracy. Mac Jones completed 77.4% of his passes his Senior year. That is out of this world. The 49ers offense (along with the rest of the NFL) is predicated on not only accurate passing to target, but also the ability to throw with timing. Deebo, Kittle and Aiyuk are some of the best YAC receivers in the NFL. If Jones can complete passes at the NFL level at near 70% completion rate? The 49er’s playmakers would be out of this world good.
- Measurables. Jones measures just under 6'3", 217 lbs with almost 10" (!) hands . He isn’t the biggest QB in the world, but those numbers are right on par with what you look for in an NFL QB. Jones hands are actually bigger than one would expect. What do big hands do in terms of QB play? It is easier to hold onto the ball and get good rpm’s on your spiral if you have bigger hands. Players like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have big hands, which allows for better overall control.
- Mac Jones throws a really “catchable” ball and has great weight on his passes. Jones also puts good weight on his throws. This one is a bit harder to exemplify, but I have definitely observed it through his game film. Jones throws a decent spiral, but it doesn’t have a ridiculous amount of RPM’s and he doesn’t throw fastballs. To put it in baseball analogy, Mac Jones is like Tom Glavine or Greg Maddux more than he is Nolan Ryan, which is a good thing for his receivers. Let’s look at some film:
The play is at the 1:51 mark. The ball almost seems to dip right into the receivers hand on this play. Jones has quite a few plays where the ball drops right in the catch radius of the player, in stride. Joe Montana was an expert at this; the ability for the receiver to easily catch the ball in stride is an underrated trait. For example… Does Mahomes have a fast ball? Absolutely. Does Mahomes often take power and velocity out of his throws to complete passes? Absolutely. Mac Jones is no Joe Montana ,by the way: I cannot stress that enough.
- I believe that somewhere deep down inside Kyle Shanahan traditionally favors his quarterback not be mobile. Kyle doesn’t want to deviate from his plays so badly, that he would prefer is QB not even have access to the utility of mobility. Remember, he’s the “Mario Williams over Vick” Madden guy ( FYI Vick in Madden is one of the most OP broken players in video game history) because Kyle is “subversive”. Although he seemingly was referring to defense over offense, I believe that he doesn’t value mobile QB’s because they have the possibility to improvise away from his game plan.
- I believe the quote by Bucky Brooks below about Jones good in a “joystick offense run by a video gamer on the sideline” was directed at Shanahan. I also believe he would be lying to your face if he denied the fact that he prefers his QB’s to be less mobile to that they don’t deviate from his play scheme. What about RG3? RG3 was the exception. Shanahan stated after the Buffalo game this year that Josh Allen opened his eyes as to what an asset a mobile QB can be, but only time will tell with this upcoming selection. The Shanahan of old drafts Jones though, nine times out of ten.
Plus… Who doesn’t like a QB that has his own hype track?
A negative- His DUI will pose some questions. Mac Jones was charged with a DUI and providing a fake ID while at Alabama. The 49ers reportedly passed on Dak because of his DUI in college. I understand that the Dak draft was under a different regime, but I wonder what the actual difference is with this situation…
Bottom Line:
Although many believe Mac Jones doesn’t have the measurables, he compares favorably to first overall pick of the 2020 draft Joe Burrow. Jones has bigger hands than Burrow, though(we have talked about that enough) and ran a sneaky 4.68–4.72 40 ( according to PFT).
Ok, so here’s the thing. The case for Mac Jones can be made through the success of the likes of Drew Brees, and the resentment of having a player like Tom Brady drop. If you believe you have a true field general in Jones ,who can make all of the throws accurately and lead a team? You pick him, no questions asked. If you believe that Jones is going to be something short of greatness? You pass on Jones and pick Lance or Fields (or Wilson if available), because those three players have physical abilities that Mac Jones simply doesn’t possess. This is the game of football though, not a physical ability competition. The decision will be tough, and a lot of capital went into this pick.
Until next time, 49ers fans!
