'Tremendous Strides': Patriots Teammates Impressed By Mac Jones In OTAs
Mac Jones called for the ball in a shotgun set and began his three-step drawback. He heaved the pigskin downfield — a near 60 yards through the air — finding receiver Tre Nixon in stride on the vertical pattern.
On Sundays, that would've gone for six. On Thursday at OTA practice, it's just another throw for the second-year New England Patriots quarterback. And "just another throw" isn't a euphemism to describe the pass.
The "wow" passes from Jones' rookie season are becoming the standard in Foxboro. Those who once questioned the arm strength now will need to hitch their wagon to another narrative if summer workouts translate to production on Sundays.
"He's a great player," Nixon said. "And I guess I'll let him speak for himself about what he's got going on, but as you can tell, just on the field watching him, he's making tremendous strides, for sure."
Jones, the Patriots' top selection of 2021 and hopeful heir apparent of Tom Brady, will remain the biggest x-factor to New England's success this fall. By Year 2, defenses begin to adjust to certain quarterback niches and attack their weakness to cause problems on the regular.
Everything is about expanding on the season before. Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He led all first-year quarterbacks in completion percentage (67.6 percent), touchdowns (22) and passer rating (92.5). Oh, and he also helped the Patriots head back to the postseason for the first time since TB12 departed for Tampa Bay.
So, why is there pressure on Jones? Second-year quarterbacks often either begin to sink or swim by the season's conclusion. And it's not just those who found success as rookies. Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield shined in 2018, but regressed a year later. It was opposite for Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, who went from being his class' worst quarterback to its best by 2019.
Jones hopes to be more like Allen and less like Mayfield. Teammates would argue he's closer to the conference rival than the now-former starter in Cleveland, even if the arm strength doesn't match.
"He's a year better," receiver Nelson Agholor said. "Working hard every day. He does a great job communicating, always working on being the best version of himself."
The biggest knock against Jones' rookie season was his consistency of passing long. Despite leading in every rookie category, his average yards per attempt hovered around 7.3 — tied for 14th most in the league.
Perhaps that was based on the play design by now-Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels in order to build up Jones' confidence. So far in OTAS, the short throws are rarely implemented. Instead, Jones is looking to build that trust factor with his receivers downfield.
In one practice, he connected with Nixon on a pass roughly 50 yards downfield. During team drills, he hit running back J.J. Taylor in stride across the middle, zipping a fastball past the head of linebacker Jahlani Tavi. He also found tight end Jonnu Smith in the back corner of the end zone, timing the throw to where only his target could haul in the ball.
He's also connected with each receiver at least once on throws over 20-yards downfield per practice. The ball placement looked the same as 2021, but the velo? It's new.
Are receivers sure that's Jones on the opposite end of the pass?
"He's an incredibly hard worker," running back Damien Harris said. "That's what I appreciate about him most — just coming out here, seeing the way that he leads, the way that he works his butt off to be the best — to be his best in order to help us all be our best."
One might think with the velocity expanding, Jones' accuracy has diminished. Far from it. Jones has rarely missed a throw in the second week of OTAs and the ones that went askew often were either slightly overthrown or drops by his target.
A goal for Jones is make the Patriots' offense quicker at the line of scrimmage. He wants to keep the defense on its toes, wondering what the next play is as he rushes the line to the ball for a fast snap.
"For me, it's always focusing on the little things, whether that's my nutrition, my footwork, how can I get my arm stronger, what can I do better in the film room," Jones said. "It's always a self evaluation to get better."
Jones isn't a stranger to the comments on the arm strength. He certainly heard enough last season of the "dink and dunk safety plays" called by McDaniels on the way to a 10-7 record.
It's a narrative that's followed Jones to Jacksonville, Fla. to Alabama and eventually the pros. Maybe the troupe stops here — or maybe Jones' newly-timed deep ball is just another trait added to his utility belt of skills entering a pivotal season.
