Heading into the 2022 season there was a lot of optimism surrounding New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. The No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft had the best rookie season out of any of his quarterback peers, helping lead the Patriots into the playoffs.
Fast forward one year as teams are beginning preparations for the 2023 season and a 180-degree turn has been done. Jones was shopped on the trade market this offseason as the relationship between him and head coach Bill Belichick soured during the 2022 season.
The Alabama product didn’t develop as hoped in Year 2. In fact, Jones took major steps backward as he battled through injuries and was ineffective for stretches of time on the field. The ineffectiveness isn’t all of his fault as multiple things played into that.
Part of it was a lack of playmakers offensively as New England didn’t have the strongest group of skill position players. The unorthodox strategy with the offensive coaching staff didn’t make matters any better.
Matt Patricia and Joe Judge oversaw the offense. Patricia has a background in defense while Judge’s background is on special teams. Things went about as well as you would have expected with those two in charge.
Bill O’Brien is back as offensive coordinator in 2023, which should help. However, some people have already jumped off the Jones bandwagon. One of those people is Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports. Benjamin did power rankings for the projected starting quarterbacks and Jones came in at No. 29.
“Can new coordinator Bill O’Brien restore Jones’ confidence and build around his strengths as a quick-strike thrower? Perhaps! But Jones has offered little outside of structure, and Bill Belichick has previously teased his dissatisfaction.”
It is hard to argue against that ranking given Jones’ performance in 2022. His performance dropped across the board as there was some clamoring for Bailey Zappe to replace him as the team’s starter.
Only three quarterbacks finished behind Jones in the rankings; Baker Mayfield, Desmond Ridder and Sam Howell. Mayfield is on his fourth team in two years while Ridder and Howell are entering Year 2 of their careers as first-time starters.
