When the 49ers made the blockbuster trade to move up to No. 3 overall earlier this offseason, the prevailing thought was it was to select Mac Jones.
That chatter continued really all the way up until this week when Trey Lance entered the conversation as well.
Ultimately, the 49ers went with Lance at No. 3 and Jones fell to No. 15 and was selected by New England.
That was perfectly fine with the Alabama QB.
“At the end of the day, you kinda just want to get the right fit. Secretly, I’ve really wanted to go to the Patriots all along. So I’m actually really happy that it happened,” Jones said via Zoom following the selection. “But it doesn’t really matter. You get picked. You’ve gotta take the opportunity and take advantage of it. Learn a new system, learn the new coaches, learn the new culture, and coach (Bill) Belichick has done a great job establishing that throughout his time in New England. I’ve just gotta learn how to be a great teammate, do my job, and stick to what they’re telling me to do.”
Playing for Nick Saban at Alabama, Jones is well aware of the long-lasting success given the Saban-Belichick connection.
“Honestly, New England is just a great place,” Jones said. “Watching them in past years, they do everything right. It’s all about the team. That’s kinda what I grew up knowing, is being a good teammate. And then obviously winning. It comes down to winning football games. New England has done that but they don’t look in the past. They just look in the future. So we’ve gotta just focus on trying to win games, take it day by day, and eventually you’ll win a lot of games.”
