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There may not be a player in college football that improved their draft stock more than Mac Jones did last season. Entering the year as an unknown player for most outside of SEC country, he quickly showed that he’s got more than enough talent to play at the next level and has solidified himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The former 3-star recruit turned Heisman Trophy finalist finished his national championship-winning season with 4,500 yards passing, 41 touchdowns, and four interceptions. It certainly helped that he had DeVonta Smith to toss the ball to, but those are what we like to call video game numbers.
Just like every quarterback that steps on Alabama’s campus, Jones had ginormous shoes to fill after Tua Tagovailoa was drafted by the Dolphins fifth-overall by the Dolphins. Based on comments from both quarterbacks in the past, it’s clear that the two were friends during their time in Tuscaloosa together.
Tagovailoa recently spoke with Yahoo! Sports about Jones and had nothing but nice things to say about him both as a football player and a person. He even gave Jones about as great of a compliment any QB could ever ask for, calling him “a more mobile Tom Brady.”
“I would say he’s a sly kind of athletic person. He’s a more mobile Tom Brady,” Tagovailoa said. “He’s very athletic. He’s a really great person. A lot of the guys, when I was playing at Alabama, they really loved being around his personality and who he was. So I’m thinking whatever team gets him they’re going to be very lucky. He’s a great player.”
With just how much QB talent is in the 2021 draft class, it’s still anyone’s guess as to which team will call Jones’ name in April. Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft, which included trades for the first time ever, has the Panthers drafting Jones with the eighth overall pick.