Over two decades ago, the New England Patriots pulled off a heist by drafting Tom Brady in the sixth round.
While his performance during the Scouting Combine was unimpressive, little did everyone know that he would become the greatest winner in NFL history.
The 44-year-old quarterback is still at it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has an opportunity to win his eighth Super Bowl ring.
But with Brady leaving the Patriots after the 2019 season, the franchise suddenly stared at a gloomy future.
However, the dark clouds parted away after the team pulled off another heist in the 2021 NFL Draft.
They had been floating the idea of trading up to draft a quarterback.
In the end, they stayed at number 15 and chose Alabama’s Mac Jones.
He was the Patriots’ target and for good reason, because he was the 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner.
Jones was also a First-Team All-SEC and a Consensus All-American in his final year in college.
Being an Academic All-American is also a plus for a cerebral head coach like Bill Belichick.
With him under center, the Patriots returned to the playoffs with a 10-7 record, earning him his first Pro Bowl selection.
But aside from that individual accolade, he edged Brady in one category.
Most games with 65%+ comp pct last season
Mac Jones 13
Tom Brady 12
Joe Burrow 12
Kyler Murray 12
Dak Prescott 12
5 players tied 11 pic.twitter.com/f1Mq2gqrfW— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) June 23, 2022
The NFL on CBS Twitter account revealed that Jones had 13 games with a completion percentage of at least 65 percent.
In contrast, Brady had 12, tying him with Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow, and Kyler Murray.
Jones Has A Long Way To Go
However, this is just a minor victory for Jones against an NFL legend and surefire Hall of Famer.
The next step for him is to lead the Patriots to a playoff victory.
Their humiliating defeat against the Buffalo Bills in last year’s Wild Card round indicates that Jones has much room for improvement.
It would be nice to see him complete more deep throws instead of dinks which improved his completion rate.
Leave a Reply