With great power comes great responsibility.
As one of 32 NFL starting QBs and more specifically the heir to the Patriots’ legacy at the position nailed down by Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe for three decades– yes, we are trying to forget the Cam Newton error! – Mac Jones certainly sits on a throne of power. He’s the on-field driver of the New England franchise for now and, if things go well, for the foreseeable future.
He’s supposed to be the next big thing.
But he’s also not an actual superhero, a level Brady essentially achieved over the course of his career.
Therein lies the rub of the balance of expectations and potential for Jones heading into his sophomore season in Foxborough. Forget his predecessors, the No. 15 overall pick a year ago set his personal bar relatively high by leading the Patriots to the playoffs in a Pro Bowl rookie season.
Now, fair or not, the expectation is that the sky’s the limit for Jones.
At least that’s the picture that his big boss man, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, painted this week in comments to The Athletic.
“This year will be very telling,” Kraft said, amidst his praise for Jones. ”I’m very happy with what I’ve seen. But this is a big year, the second year.”
It’s a second year for Jones in which he’s competing with some of the game’s most elite quarterbacks in the AFC, having to stack up with guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Derek Carr, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow in a conference almost laughably loaded with talent at the most important position in football.
Even putting the Super Bowl-winning veterans and former NFL MVPS on a different level, Jones will certainly be compared to Herbert and Burrow who in 2021 put forth extremely impressive second seasons, the latter leading the lowly Bengals to the Super Bowl. Kraft made it clear to The Athletic that he has his fingers crossed Jones will make a similar leap.
As such, some might argue there is immense pressure on Jones to live up to the responsibilities of his lot in Foxborough life.
Not so fast.
While quarterbacks are expected to be the centerpiece of every team’s NFL world, they aren’t actually the be-all, end-all.
That’s where the sky-high expectations may come crashing down to Earthly reality for Jones in New England.
That reality is one in which Jones lost his like-minded, experienced, capable, career-molding offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels this offseason. McDaniels took some barbs from outside critics, but he inarguably guided Jones to success a year ago.
Now, Jones doesn’t have a coordinator in a titular sense.
Bill Belichick has revealed only that he, Joe Judge, Matt Patricia and others will be working with Jones in his critical development. That’s right, Jones is losing a coach with 20 years of experience coaching quarterbacks, that massive coaching hole filled by a GOAT head coach who’s primarily defensive-minded, a former special teams coach and a former defensive coordinator. As far as ideal quarterback development plans go, well obviously this ain’t it.
Coaching isn’t the only thing Jones may have working against him in his second season. While nearly every other quarterback across the conference or even the NFL has an elite, go-to No. 1 option to work with and make his job easier, Jones clearly does not. He’s got a nice rapport with red-zone target Hunter Henry. Jakobi Meyers is a comfortable, reliable, consistent option. Kendrick Bourne has produced flashes of playmaking ability. But elite? None is even close.
So with questionable coaching and a mediocre support cast Jones is supposed to have a “big year”?
That doesn’t seem realistic or even all that fair an expectation.
Rather, if Jones does have a “big year” in 2022, lifting his game and the Patriots offense to new heights, it should be seen as unexpectedly impressive. Success could come in spite of the suspect coaching and yet-to-be-determined play calling. Jones could make plays even without a Pro Bowl-caliber target at his disposal.
If that happens, that’s a huge feather in Jones’ youthful cap. It will be all him. He’ll be driving the production, not a passenger riding the talents of those around him.
And, if the Year 2 Jump that Belichick so often talks about doesn’t come, well that’s almost predictable. The excuses are baked into the season long before a single practice or game. Jones doesn’t have the coaching and supporting cast to take things to the next level.
Jones is in a rare no-lose situation for an NFL quarterback.
He should get pretty much all the credit for any success the Patriots offense and passing game have in 2022 and little of the blame if it doesn’t come together for the kind of “big year” Kraft is hoping for.
