Pats say Jones plays like a vet

Patriots coach Bill Belichick stayed tight-lipped Wednesday when asked questions about his decision to release veteran Cam Newton and crown rookie Mac Jones the starting quarterback.

But Patriots players on both sides of the ball have offered some additional insights into what makes Jones, the 15th pick in this year’s draft, a promising young player.

“I mean, Mac Jones, he’s going to be that guy,” cornerback J.C. Jackson said Thursday afternoon. “He’s a rookie, but he plays like a vet [by] the way he reads defenses, the way he steps up in the pocket and delivers the ball. He’s improved since the first time I saw him.”

According to linebacker Dont’a Hightower, Jones has started studying elements of the defensive playbook in order to see how some of the plays work conceptually. The move earned him major points with Hightower, who called Jones a “real smart dude.”

“He’s going to go over the edge,” Hightower said earlier during training camp. “I give him credit for that because not a lot of young guys would see that as an opportunity, and he did that on his own. You can take that for what it’s worth.”

One specific thing that has stood out to Jones’ teammates is his ability to operate at the line of scrimmage, starting with dissecting the defense pre-snap.

Defensive back Jalen Mills said Thursday he has noticed that Jones often can already detect what the defense is showing, then communicate necessary adjustments to the offense — an important aspect of the quarterback position.

“There may be a motion, or you see a guy flinch where it may be a blitz, and you see him go to the line of scrimmage and make a different type of check,” said Mills. “That’s what you want to see from not only a young guy, but your quarterback in general.”

For wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, those pre-snap adjustments are extremely apparent during the team’s two-minute offense. Bourne said Jones is “very relaxed” while making his reads and going through his progressions to find the open receiver.

“We’re moving fast, but it’s slowed down,” said Bourne. “For him to see what’s going on to make the play change, that’s what’s key. And he’s seeing it well, so he’s putting us in the best position to make the plays.”

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