ESPN analyst believes Mac Jones will lead Patriots to Super Bowl

Mac Jones is having a nice start to his rookie season with the New England Patriots, as the 2021 first-round draft pick has led the Patriots to a 4-4 record and, perhaps more importantly, has shown strides of improvements through just eight weeks.

The Patriots’ 4-4 record makes New England far from a lock for the playoffs, however, and as for a Super Bowl — Bill Belichick’s team seems to have plenty of work on that front before it can once again be considered a Super Bowl contender. ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes that the Patriots do have the most important piece to a Super Bowl-winning puzzle: a quarterback in Jones.

Orlovsky on Friday appeared on First Take and explained why he believes Jones will be the quarterback to lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl. When asked if he thinks Belichick has won his last Super Bowl, Orlovsky said no.

“I think Bill Belichick can win a Super Bowl with Mac Jones. I think Mac Jones is the best rookie quarterback that I have ever seen since doing this job when it comes to knowing where to go with the football, when to go with the football and how to throw that football,” Orlovsky said of the Patriots rookie. “And I think that is going to be a huge reason why that they can win a Super Bowl together.”

Through eight Patriots games in his rookie season, Jones has thrown for 1,997 passing yards while holding an impressive 68 percent completion rate. He’s thrown nine touchdowns, too; however, Jones has thrown six interceptions. He has done a much better job limiting the turnovers in the past two weeks, though, as he hasn’t thrown an interception since Oct. 17.

“I’d look at it in comparison to where the Patriots are right now and the people that they’re going to have to beat out to get to the Super Bowl, basically out of the AFC,” Orlovsky said of Jones. “And it’s focused on the financial freedom that a really good quarterback is going to afford them over the next four or five years. We’ve heard that story before, right?”

Jones had only one season as the Alabama starting quarterback, as he served his first few seasons in a backup role. But he certainly made the most of the opportunity. Jones in 2020 set an NCAA single-season record with a 77.4 completion percentage, coupled with 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He won the national championship with Alabama and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2020 (Jones ultimately lost to his teammate, wide receiver DeVonta Smith.). He was later drafted by the Patriots with the 15th-overall pick in the NFL Draft and beat out last year’s starter, Cam Newton, to become New England’s opening-day starter.