Despite the fact that the heralded Alabama Crimson Tide continue to be by far the best program in all of college football, it is rare that the SEC powerhouse has a highly-touted quarterback leading up to the NFL Draft. However, this year was certainly different as the New England Patriots have officially selected former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
With the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting former Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL draft and the New York Jets immediately following suit with former BYU Cougars quarterback Zach Wilson at No. 2, Jones has now become the fifth signal caller to come off the board on Thursday evening.
The soon-to-be 23-year-old really settled in at Alabama this past season, as Mac Jones has a slew of talented weapons at his disposal down in Tuscaloosa. In addition to Jones under center, the Crimson Tide deployed running back Najee Harris and wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith on opposing defenses as well. The 2021 NFL draft class involved Jones' Alabama teammate, Jaylen Waddle, going earlier in the first round at No. 6 to the Miami Dolphins. Jones' arrival in Foxborough sets up a fascinating situation in which he will battle for the starting job alongside Cam Newton of Alabama's ancient football rival, the Auburn Tigers. That instantly becomes a top offseason storyline in the NFL.
Jones notably strung together a whopping 4,500 yards through the air as a junior in 2020-21 while adding 41 passing touchdowns against a mere four interceptions. It is also worth noting that the NFL newcomer completed an incredible 77.4 percent of his passing attempts in what would become his final season at Alabama. This is an NFL draft selection many will talk about for so many different reasons, and one point to emphasize here is that it indicates that Jimmy Garoppolo will not be acquired by New England from the San Francisco 49ers.
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