Alabama Football: Could Mac Jones be a top-3 NFL draft pick?
The 49ers traded up and it’s rumored that they could want Mac Jones. Will the former Alabama football quarterback go in the top three of the 2021 NFL draft?
You always knew that the 2021 NFL draft was going to be defined by the quarterbacks and one who is moving up the boards fast is former Alabama football standout, Mac Jones.
Jones led Alabama football to the national championship and put up insane numbers along the way. He completed 77.4 percent of his passes and tossed 41 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions.
Alabama football was extremely talented and Jones benefited from that. Yet, that doesn’t take away from what he did this season or even in 2019, when he threw 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions in 141 attempts.
Over the last few weeks, Jones has seen his stock in the 2021 NFL draft rise. It’s pretty clear that he’s going to be a high first-round pick but until the 49ers traded up with Miami earlier this week for the No. 3 pick, he didn’t seem headed for the top five.
Now, there are rumors all over the place about the 49ers liking Mac Jones and how he could ultimately be the selection of San Francisco with the third overall pick.
When the trade was first made, it was reported that San Francisco would be happy with whoever was left after the Jaguars and Jets made their picks.
That’s pretty easy to interpret. It means that the 49ers didn’t just trade up for a shot at BYU’s Zach Wilson, although I’m sure that will be the pick if the Jets pass, but also that they are happy with one of the other quarterbacks should Wilson and Trevor Lawrence be gone as expected.
Wilson’s stock in the 2021 NFL draft is also on the rise. He just completed an impressive pro day and there is talk of him being the next Patrick Mahomes. How could the Jets pass that up?
Well…they are the Jets.
Still, it seems like there’s a good chance that the 2021 NFL draft opens with three or four quarterbacks selected in a row. And if Wilson is gone to the Jets, there’s a strong chance Alabama football’s Mac Jones winds up in the top five, maybe the top three.
Because even if the 49ers don’t take Jones, say they take Justin Fields or Trey Lance, then the Atlanta Falcons will be sitting there needing a quarterback.
The Falcons have been connected to Fields and Lance. Their biggest issue is that picking fourth, they have to wait.
Next. Predicting where top QBs will land in NFL draft. dark
Now three teams might be selecting a quarterback before them, and a guy like Jones could benefit.