2021 NFL Draft: Buccaneers need to stay far away from QB Mac Jones
By Rob Leeds
Mac Jones and the Buccaneers aren’t a fit.
The Buccaneers need to find a quarterback to follow Tom Brady. Desperately. Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin are decent backups, but they aren’t the type of players to take over as the face of the franchise. The Bucs should almost take anyone they can get at this point, but Mac Jones isn’t the answer.
While a young quarterback to learn behind the GOAT for a season or two is necessary, the Bucs can’t fall into the trap that is Jones.
Much like the sirens lured sailors to their deaths with their singing in Greek mythology, Mac Jones’ 2020 campaign could have the same impact.
On paper, Jones was a Heisman finalist, a national champion, and his former receivers speak the world of him. Several key names have come out to show their support for Jones over the highly-touted Tua Tagovailoa, and teams are starting to buy into the hype.
Even Chris Simms came out with a quarterback hierarchy that has Jones above the likes Justin Fields and Trey Lance. If that caused you to double-take, you had the correct reaction to this almost impossible to believe news.
So how has Jones convinced the world that he deserves to be a first-round pick? Clearly, there is talent there, but the same was also said about Daniel Jones, Mitchell Trubisky, Dwayne Haskins, etc.
Jones and Trubisky show that stats alone aren’t the only metric, but none of the three that were touted as future starters have panned out yet in the NFL. Haskins has been cut and is with a new team, Trubisky has been benched countless times, and is anyone actually convinced that Daniel Jones will turn out at any point?
Does Mac Jones look more like these quarterbacks, or the top options in the league at this point? That should be the best way to evaluate his potential as a prospect.