We knew the Patriots played the NFL Draft perfectly back in April, when they stayed at No. 15 and got Mac Jones — despite the 49ers and Bears surrendering first-round assets to trade up for quarterbacks. But now, we have even more proof.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday the 49ers moved up to No. 3 overall — trading three first-round picks in the process — so they could block the Patriots from grabbing Jones. “San Francisco wanted to position itself to select a quarterback for the future and believed there were multiple worthy candidates,” Schefter writes. “But the 49ers also were concerned that the Patriots would leapfrog them in the draft and position themselves to select Jones before San Francisco could.”
Of course, the 49ers wound up drafting Trey Lance, rendering their apparent countermove moot. That’s led some to question the veracity of Schefter’s report, which is attributed to “league sources.”
While it’s fun to guess where Schefter obtained his information — the 49ers wouldn’t appear to have an interest in leaking that info — his scoop holds up. The 49ers traded up to No. 3 on March 27, about one month before the NFL Draft. During that time, it’s plausible Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch became more enamored with Lance than Jones. Talent evaluators change their minds.
49ers reporter Tim Kawakami of The Athletic backed up Shefter’s story with a subsequent tweet. “Those of us who kept saying that Shanahan loved Jones before the draft said it because everybody in the NFL was saying this,” Kawakami wrote. “We all got roasted after the 49ers took Lance, but there was a reason everybody was saying this. [Shanahan] did love Jones. Then he decided Lance will be better.”
Of course, that means the 49ers miscalculated the draft order, and needlessly gave up three first-round picks when they could’ve selected a quarterback at their original spot, No. 11. Justin Fields and Jones were both available.
The Bears traded up for Fields, while the Patriots hung back for Jones.
At the time, it was suspected the Patriots weren’t targeting Jones, since they didn’t aggressively pursue him. But maybe Bill Belichick knew how the draft would play out, correctly predicting that one of Jones, Fields or Lance would be available to them at No. 15.
Whatever the case, the Patriots went with Jones, and so far it looks like a winning selection. The Alabama standout was PFF’s top-rated rookie quarterback in Week 1, completing 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown.
He had the second-best completion percentage ever out of 61 rookies to attempt at least 30 passes in their first career start.
Lance, meanwhile, spelled Jimmy Garoppolo for four snaps. While the rookie did deliver a touchdown pass, it’s apparent Jones is more NFL-ready. The 49ers’ reported bait-and-switch on Jones could go down as one of the biggest blunders in recent NFL Draft history.
And the Patriots may have pulled off one of the best reads. That’s the takeaway from Schefter’s story: Belichick got it right.
