Patriots

Patriots take Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with No. 15 pick in 2021 NFL Draft

Jones was the fifth quarterback taken in the first 15 picks.

By Tom Westerholm

April 29, 2021

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The New England Patriots selected Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday.

Jones was the fifth quarterback taken on Thursday after Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields went in the first 11 picks. Jones led Alabama to the NCAA championship with a dominant 464-yard performance against Ohio State in the title game, completing 36 of 45 passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Jones was projected to go in the top five on many mock drafts before Thursday’s draft began. He finished with a 77.4 completion percentage in his junior season, throwing for 4,500 total yards, 41 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Stats, Inc.’s scouting report on Jones described him as a smart game manager with good ball placement “regardless of distance.” The scouting report added that he has an average arm and likely won’t be able to extend plays by scrambling, comparing him to Jared Goff.

Jones was asked about his ability to scramble in the NFL at an interview prior to his pro day.

“So I ran the 4.7 40, so that should have helped out. But I know what you’re saying … I can do it all. Obviously, there’s not a ton of tape on it, but in high school, I ran the Wing T, so there was a lot of movement, throwing on the run and stuff like that. So it’s all stuff I’ve done in the past. But I’m working on that now, it’s just something we didn’t do a crazy amount of just with the scheme that we had and what we wanted to do this last year.”