Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis sees a quarterback that checks the two most vital boxes for a prospect, at least by his own estimation.
“What are the two most important components of a star quarterback? They have the ‘it’ factor. And they’re accurate. That’s who he was,” Weis told ESPN.
Of course, Weis’ former team needs a quarterback. The Patriots’ 2020 starter, Cam Newton, is on an expiring one-year contract. He struggled while attempting to replace Tom Brady, the 20-year starter in New England. But Weis isn’t going to tell the Patriots what to do — he’s certainly not going to insist they draft Jones.
“I don’t want to be one of those people telling them how they are dumbasses if they don’t do that,” Weiss said.
The knock on Jones, who currently sits in the top 15 picks in most mock drafts but is ranked as the 34th-best prospect on NFL.com, is that he isn’t athletic enough to excel in today’s NFL. Jones can move in the pocket, but he’s not quick or fast enough to scramble or gain yards with his legs. The other problem? He had the best supporting cast at running back, receiver and offensive line.
“You talk about being around good players. Yeah, he was around good players. But playing on a team with a bunch of stars, who is the leader of the offense?” Weis said. “He also had to make all those throws. I think the kid is an excellent quarterback. He has less holes than just about anybody.”
“If you’re looking for a guy that’s going to be running for 30 yards on a regular basis, that’s not your guy. But he can move in the pocket, and from the pocket, and run the ball when he absolutely needs to.”
