New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has provided reason for optimism despite a brutal start to the 2021 season for Bill Belichick’s team. Though the Patriots have established themselves as a subpar squad with their 2-4 record, New England has seen massive strides from their rookie, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The digital scouting service, Pro Football Focus, thinks favorable of Jones’ season so far in 2021.
Through six weeks, Jones’ positional grade overall is 79.7, with a 78.3 passing grade and a 65.0 running grade. (He also got a 72.6 grade for his work as a pass blocker, likely from Jakobi Meyers’ passing attempts.) Jones’ overall grade is 14th-best in the NFL.
As a point of comparison, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ overall grade is 78.2, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s is 78.2 and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ is 77.2. All three quarterbacks are graded lower on the season than Jones.
For his Week 6 performance, Jones received a grade of 92.5, his highest grade as a pro. That was the second-best performance of the week behind Carson Wentz. It was also the fifth-best single-game performance of the year, behind R. Wilson in Week 5 (94.2), Wentz in Week 6 (94.1), Tom Brady in Week 1 (93) and Ryan Tannehill in Week 2 (92.6).
It seems Jones is on an upward trajectory. It may be too late for the Patriots to turn their season around — with a 21% chance of making the playoffs — but perhaps New England can build momentum for a big 2022 season.
