Boomer Esiason on Mac Jones if 2021 NFL Draft was held today
Mac Jones may have had the best season of any college quarterback prior to the 2021 NFL Draft. Still, he was the fifth quarterback taken in the first round. However, CBS analyst and WFAN host Boomer Esisason believes things would change if the draft was held today.
When asked on The Greg Hill Show, Esiason stated that he believes Jones would catapult to the first quarterback drafted based on the early returns.
“I think Mac Jones would be,” Esiason said, when asked who he thinks would go first. “I think everybody sees that.”
Moreover, Esiason recognizes that Jones’ situation is easily the best of all the five quarterbacks drafted in round one. While Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are on rebuilding teams, Trey Lance and Justin Fields are blocked by veteran quarterbacks.
In his day, Esiason was a successful former quarterback in his own right. He knows the support Jones’ team and coaching staff are providing him is vital.
“He’s in the perfect offense,” Esiason said of the former Alabama star. “Again, you have to remember that Jacksonville is starting over. The Jets are starting over. Trey Lance is sitting on the bench just waiting for Jimmy Garoppolo to go down eventually.
“I think in the situation these quarterbacks find themselves in, Mac is in the best situation. A young quarterback to be supported by his team. By his coaching staff.”
While Jones’ numbers don’t jump off the stat sheets yet, he’s done enough to put his team in position to win each game. In his first two NFL games, the former Alabama star has thrown for 467 yards and a touchdown — but perhaps most importantly, zero turnovers.
Esiason praises Josh McDaniels
Furthermore, Esiason heaped praise of Jones’ offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels.
“Josh McDaniels these last two weeks, if you ask me, dealing with a novice quarterback and playing the way Mac has played, completing about 75 percent of his passes, deserves a lot of credit for getting him to not try to do too much,” Esiason said.
“That’s a hard thing to do with athletes. We all want to be the hero. We all want to go out there and throw five touchdown passes or do what Lamar Jackson did last night [in the Ravens’ win over the Chiefs], but it takes a while for us to understand exactly what’s happening around us. I think the way that they’re handling Mac and what Mac is doing on the field, it’s really a testament to the coaching staff.”
While Mac Jones helped carry the Alabama offense last season, he hasn’t been asked to shoulder the entirety of the load for the New England Patriots. However, Boomer Esiason believes he’ll be ready when the time comes.