Not a whole lot of optimism regarding the Patriots has been said this preseason and as training camp has progressed, the discussion has only become more negative. However, an unlikely voice expressed quite the opposite opinion last week, making headline-worthy statements about the future of Mac Jones with the Patriots.
During his appearance on ESPN’s show Get Up, former GM of the Jets and Dolphins Mike Tannenbaum spoke highly of the second-year quarterback, revealing he believes Jones has the best chance to be in the MVP conversation of all the quarterbacks selected in the 2021 draft. .
“He had a great year last year. He went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady, got his team to the playoffs. He played well in the playoff game.”
Jones’ performance in the playoffs against the Bills is debatable, as the entire team struggled that night. But Tannenbaum’s assessment of his success in year one is fairly accurate.
The Patriots were only one play away from beating the Super Bowl Champion Bucs when Tom Brady came to town, and Jones led the team back to the playoffs after missing it just a season before. He had one of the better rookie seasons in recent years and he deserves to have it viewed that way.
Tannenbaum would go on to discuss how the offense has improved overall, mentioning that their receivers and running backs are falling a bit under the radar.
“They have a great offensive line, two really good running backs, two excellent tight ends, and an underrated receiving corps. They brought over DeVante Parker [and have] Jakobi Meyers. They’re going to be better at receiver than people think.”
The Patriots’ offense certainly does not lack talent. After struggling to find offensive weapons for a handful of years, Bill Belichick was able to bring in two of the top tight ends in the league, build a dynamic group of running backs and add talented receivers to fill the weaknesses of their current players.
He would also draft the fastest receiver and running back in the 2022 class and (once again) find some hidden gems among the undrafted free agents. If the team can figure it out in the next few weeks, their potential is sky high. Tannenbaum’s words, although unbelievable to some, reiterate that potential.
He’d also briefly mentioned the offensive play-calling situation, which has been the hottest topic this summer and expressed his confidence in Matt Patricia seemingly taking over that role.
“I do think the play-calling situation, which we’ve made a lot out of, will work itself out led by Matt Patricia.”
It’s not ideal for Mac Jones to be learning a new offense with a new offensive coordinator in only his second season, most would agree. And in the early stages of camp, it didn’t appear to be working well.
But Belichick has expressed that he is open to making the changes needed for the offense to be successful, and it’s highly unlikely that the greatest coach of all time would watch his team struggle and remain dead set in continuing on the new offensive path.
With a few weeks left until the regular season begins and one more preseason game to play, the Patriots have time to get it all figured out. And even with all of this known, Tannenbaum still believes Jones has got what it takes and the Patriots will be better than what people think.
“Mac Jones is the second-best quarterback in the AFC East. They’re going to go to the playoffs and they’re going to exceed expectations.”
Whether the consensus agrees with his statements or not, it is intriguing to hear from a former general manager, particularly one from a rival team, expressing such confidence in Jones for the 2022 season and beyond.