Trey Lance famously threw 0 interceptions over the course of a full year in the 2019 FCS season and that’s when he really started to gain hype. North Dakota State played just one game in 2020 and that game was only because they wanted one more chance for Lance to show his talent. He has a unique combination of accuracy, arm talent, and mobility and while there is plenty of risk involved the upside is more than worth a high selection. 

Strengths: 

  • Moves Through Progressions Very Well

Jones does a great job being a guy who will go through each progression and make a full field read. Oftentimes it’s tough to coach that into someone but Mac Jones already has that phenomenal field scanning ability.

  • Short/Intermediate Accuracy

Mac Jones does a great job in the short and intermediate parts of the field. He can hit all of his targets in this area of the field, even when heavily covered.

  • Good Touch

Mac Jones does a great job getting touch on his passes when he needs to take a bit off the pass to float it over a defender. Other guys struggle with finding the right balance but Jones has that issue resolved.

  • Leads Receivers

Mac Jones does a good job throwing with anticipation for when a receiver is going to be breaking open and he does a great job at leading them open and leading them into yards after the catch.

  • Decent Pocket Presence

While he’s not the most mobile guy in the world he can sometimes make up for with his great feel for the pocket knowing when rushers are coming and when to bail and when to hang in and make the throw.

Weaknesses: 

  • Athletically Average

Mac Jones isn’t as unathletic as some people think but he certainly doesn’t bring much to the table. He is not mobile enough to be a great scrambler and his arm talent is also average.

  • Not One Phenomenal Trait

All of Mac Jones’ strengths come with inconsistencies and I wouldn’t say there’s one thing he does at an elite level. He’s not pinpoint accurate to the point where he hits every throw and isn’t Brady-esque in feeling the pocket and leading receivers like people think.

  • Deep Ball Accuracy Needs Work

Throwing a consistent accurate deep ball is one of the most important things for QBs nowadays and Mac Jones doens’t have that. To compensate for his average arm he gets more into his throws and sacrifices accuracy. He throws in the vicinity of the receivers rather than to a specific spot for the receiver to make an easy play.

Player Comp: In my opinion Mac Jones is quite similar to Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings. Both guys are pretty average athletes who don’t have amazing arm strength or mobility but have enough, and they thrive on being accurate with the football, especially in the short and intermediate areas of the field. They both aren’t quite elite in any one thing but they do a good job leading receivers and throwing with touch. They both get through all of their progressions in a full field read in a quick and timely manner and both guys have decent pocket awareness. Cousins has better deep ball accuracy and is perhaps a slightly better athlete but other than that Jones is pretty close to Cousins.

Final Thoughts: The general media consensus is that Mac Jones is QB5 although many reports have come out saying the 49ers are looking to target Mac at 3 and I just think that’s crazy. He seems like a slightly less athletic Kirk Cousins to me and that’s not exactly a guy I want to hitch my wagon behind. I think he’s a mid round 1 guy while others think he’s an early mid round 1 guy so I’m certainly lower on him than many. A team fit is the Patriots where he can replace Brady and play a similar style of football of making the right reads and throwing accurate passes, and 15 where the Patriots pick is where I’m comfortable picking him.