Bill Belichick still isn't ready to name who the starting quarterback will be for Week 1 of the regular season, but rookie Mac Jones has to feel pretty good about the fact that he's done everything in his power to push for that opportunity. After all, Jones finished the preseason with a very nice stat line in three outings: 36-52 with 389 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. His 97.4 passer rating was sixth in the league, and second among his first-round rookie QB colleagues, trailing only Trevor Lawrence (106.5).
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Where he didn't trail Trevor Lawrence — or any quarterback in the league since 2013 — was in his Pro Football Focus grade, which was a shining 92.2. For what it's worth, the only two passers with a higher PFF grade than 92.2 during the 2020 regular season were MVP Aaron Rodgers (95.1) and Tom Brady (93.3).
So while it may be surprising to learn that the quarterback taken at No. 15 — the latest of the five first-round signal-callers — had the best preseason of the bunch, the statistics and the tape make it a lot more understandable. Just take it from Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, who broke down Jones' performance this preseason on "QBConfidential" and had high praise (h/t Alexandra Francisco of NESN).
"We're gonna start with the No. 5 guy that was drafted, and that's Mac Jones, who you could possibly argue has been the best of all five of these quarterbacks in the preseason," Warner said. "And I think the reason that he's been the best is because what you saw in college, he's been able to translate over to what you see in the pros."
Warner lauded his ability to recognize defensive schemes, simplify the game, make decisive throws, take the checkdown pass when appropriate and more.
Seeing as this was "The Good" episode on Jones, there will probably be some negative feedback in store down the line. But for now, we'll live with the fact that Warner called him "arguably" the best rookie quarterback based on his preseason showing, and if the Patriots coaching staff feels the same, that QB decision could require some more time to figure out.
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