The Carolina Panthers could’ve selected Michael McCorkle Jones with the eighth pick the 2021 draft. Expect they didn’t.
That, however, doesn’t mean they still can’t acknowledge him from afar and as they head into their Week 9 matchup against the rookie and his New England Patriots.
When speaking with Boston-area media in a conference call on Thursday, head coach Matt Rhule gave his thoughts on Mac Jones—detailing his experience coaching the University of Alabama product back in January and his strong belief in him as a player moving forward.
“You could see how intelligent he was the first day,” Rhule said, per NESN’s Zack Cox. Rhule headed the American team, who Jones played for, at the 2021 Senior Bowl.
“We put a lot of install in, a lot of words in, just to see if they could recite it, and you could see pretty quickly he had a feel for the game. He had some moxie, and he was really, really intelligent and accurate and could throw the deep ball at a high level.”
The Panthers, of course, would pass up on Jones in the first round (as well as Ohio State University quarterback Justin Fields) in favor of cornerback Jaycee Horn just a few months later. Jones, instead, was later selected by New England at the 15th overall spot.
Regardless, Rhule knew Jones would be able to succeed at the next level, no matter who took him.
“To me, no matter where Mac ended up, I knew he was going to be a longtime pro, because he just has all the right qualities and all the right things that are essential to being a great player,” Rhule added. “That was evident to me from the very beginning.”
Carolina pass-rush extraordinaire Haason Reddick also had a few words of praise for Jones. Reddick, who’ll be looking to add on to his NFC-leading 7.5 sacks at the kid’s expense this Sunday, says he reminds him of some other dude who played for the Patriots.
“I’m saying this very lightly, because I know he’s nowhere near as smart of a player as Tom Brady. But, at times, he does look like a young Tom Brady,” Reddick said after Thursday’s practice. “Take that for whatever you take that for. But he definitely is a solid football player.”
While much of this is just the normal respect and coach-speak for an opponent, we’ll see Jones will make the Panthers regret (or at least think back to) the moment they didn’t put his name on their draft card back in April.
