Mac Jones appears to be winning over NFL executives in the same way he apparently won over former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay relayed a story from Sarkisian, who had originally planned to keep things simple for Jones and let him use the talent around him. Within three weeks, Sarkisian said he was installing more complex plays with his quarterback than he ever anticipated.
“Going back to … I think it was the second or third game of the year, against Missouri, all coach Sark was saying is, ‘We just need Mac Jones to stay in his lane,’” McShay told ESPN’s “Get Up!” via Garrett Stepien of 247Sports. “… The second game we did in the middle of the season, (Sarkisian) said, ‘You know, I’m starting to install more and he’s showing me more.’
“And by the third game that we did at the end of the year, Sark said to us he has installed more with Mac Jones than he had with any other college quarterback. So that’s the mental aptitude that he has.”
Jones has been widely praised for his instincts and intangibles. As McShay notes, he lacks mobility, which could be a concern in a league that increasingly values that in its quarterbacks. NFL teams don’t seem bothered by that in this case, though. Jones’ former Alabama teammates certainly weren’t.
