Alabama’s Jones on Niners’ minds.
NFL expert on 49ers’ quarterback draft dilemma: ‘Mac Jones is really Garoppolo, you know’
This is the second of three installments detailing insight from NFL experts on probable quarterback targets for the 49ers in next week’s draft. Today: Mac Jones.
There’s keeping up with the Joneses. Then there’s keeping up with the Mac Jones rumors.
Once mock drafts and national reporters began connecting Jones to the 49ers, fans fumed.
They figured the 49ers traded up to the NFL draft’s
No. 3 slot to upgrade their team, to finally join the ranks of having a mobile, dual-threat quarterback (as if they’d forgotten Colin Kaepernick’s 2011-16 era).
How dare the 49ers take a pocket passer, like so many of Kyle Shanahan’s past quarterbacks, much less one missing the charm and movie star looks of Jimmy Garoppolo? Yet Jones is Garoppolo 2.0?
Well, Thursday, the 49ers could bypass Jones’ national championship pedigree from Alabama. They could take Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. That all assumes Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and BYU’s Zach Wilson are snatched up first
by the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets.
To help 49ers’ fans envision Jones’ compatibility, here is a panel of NFL experts offering their insight:
Offensive coach view
STEVE MARIUCCI >> Mariucci is the 49ers’ fourth-winningest coach (57-39 from 1997-2002). He’s coached Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brett Favre and Steve Young. Mariucci is in his 16th year as an NFL Network analyst.
“Maybe Mac Jones is most ready to start right now in a conventional offense, and he did that in Alabama. He could be that Matt Ryan-type guy, play from the pocket, play-action pass, not make lot mistakes, complete a lot passes, be very steady.”
Defensive coach view
WADE PHILLIPS >> Phillips faced Shanahan’s 49ers as the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator from 2017-19 and he’s coached NFL defenses since 1976, including head-coaching stints with Denver, Dallas and Houston.
“Mac Jones is really Garoppolo, you know. He’s not a runner, so I’m sure they’d feel comfortable with that. It’d be similar to what they’ve been doing.
“A 77% completion (rate), it’s hard to pass on that. Everybody wants a Tom Brady, obviously. If they can’t really run, you want a Tom Brady. But Garoppolo did some good things for them; they won a lot of games with him.
“If they can get that type guy that’s consistent, doesn’t throw interceptions, run the ball well and play good defense, they can win games. They’ve proven that.”
Game-film view
GREG COSELL >> Cosell is a senior producer at NFL Films and an analyst for ESPN’s “NFL Matchup” show.
“He doesn’t have a big arm, but in structure and timing, he can throw vertical balls. He can’t sit on his back foot and drive the ball downfield. Fields and Lance can. … Jones can throw posts, fades, throws that are within the timing of a play. A lot of those throws are spot throws.
“(The offense) won’t look different (depending on the quarterback). It’ll come different if the play demands it. Say it’s third-and-9 and they don’t pick up the blitz; Mac won’t have something to do, and Field and Lance will have something.”
General manager view
MARK DOMINIK >> Dominik worked in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ personnel department from 1997-2013, overlapping with John Lynch’s playing days and eventually serving as the Bucs’ GM for five years. He hosts a Sirius/XM NFL Radio show Fridays.
“Mac Jones is more accurate than both those other quarterbacks. I think that’s a big part of why he is kind of, to me, the leader in the clubhouse.
“With Mac Jones, he brings the processing we’ve already seen at a high level. A lot of people beat up Mac Jones because (of) who he played with. Justin Fields played with a lot of good players, too. I like Justin, too. I work with a lot of young kids pre-draft. I’m telling you these Alabama kids love Mac Jones, and I think there’s a good reason why.
“With Mac Jones, and the reason I still think he’s going No. 3, is a lot of good information coming out of San Francisco. We’re now acting like quarterbacks that run 4.7-flat are bad athletes. That’s kind of a shock. He’s not a bad athlete. He’s just not as fast. It doesn’t make him a bad athlete. Don’t get that confused from a guy that can’t fit Kyle Shanahan’s system.”
Scout view
GIL BRANDT >> Brandt entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame two years ago. He became a full-time scout with the 49ers in 1958-59 before 29 years in the Dallas Cowboys’ personnel department. He is a weeknight host on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“Jones has got ‘it.’ No one knows what ‘it’ is but he knows how to get the ball to the right guys. He’s been very well coached coming in.”
Quarterback view
JEFF GARCIA >> Garcia, by way of San Jose State and the Canadian Football League, began his 11-year NFL career with the 49ers from (1999-2003). He’s been an NBC Sports Bay Area analyst since 2017.
“He’s a solid quarterback. He’s someone who could grasp the style of offense, operate the offense, play within the parameters of the offense. Everything he brings from an intellectual side to the capabilities, the arm ability, the consistency, the accuracy, the leadership qualities. Those are very good things he brings to the table.
“He does have his limitations. He has solid pocket awareness but he’s not a guy who’ll bring great escapability, much like someone Kyle’s worked with in the past, like Matt Ryan and Jimmy Garoppolo. They’ve shown they’re capable to succeed and do what’s asked of them. What they don’t have is the ability to extend plays when everything else breaks down around you.
“Mac Jones is not as athletic as what you have in a Fields or a Lance, and I think that’s where your major differences are going to be.
“When you look at what they have with Jimmy G, you already have a Mac Jones style of QB. … Bringing on a Mac Jones, yes, it would be fairly smooth in the transition, in you’d have a similar guy you already have, but is that the road we want to go down when you see what’s around the NFL, and you see a Russell Wilson in how he can make plays, when you see what Texans have in Watson, what Mahomes does in Kansas City?”
College football view
KIRK HERBSTREIT >> Herbstreit is a fixture on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and has split time as a game analyst during his 25 years at the network. He played quarterback at Ohio State from 1989-92.
“Mac Jones would be, on paper, a great fit in that system. The one thing that blew me away about Mac Jones — and that’s looking at him and all the quarterbacks this year — is how his ability coming out of Steve Sarkisian’s offense, and Sark was in Atlanta with Matt Ryan running it as a coordinator. But to watch Mac Jones process information and how quickly he thinks and how quickly the ball gets out, man, there’s a lot to like about that part of his game.
“The guys that make it, they go to the right fit, the right system, and they’re lucky enough to play for a Sean Payton. They’re lucky enough to play for an Andy Reid. We would never know who Joe Montana was if he didn’t play for Bill Walsh and playing a West Coast offense for the 49ers, and I don’t think having talented players around you should be a knock on you at all.
“Mac Jones, he’s a surgeon. He probably processes as quickly as anybody that’s coming out in this draft. I mean by processing: recognizing pre-snap coverage if they change coverage at the snap of the ball, being able to instantly know where to go with the ball without any hesitation. That to me is the secret sauce.”
Draftnik view
MEL KIPER JR., DANIEL JEREMIAH >> Kiper has led ESPN’s NFL draft analysis since 1984. Jeremiah is in his 10th year at NFL Network after scouting for the Ravens, Browns and Eagles. KIPER >> “If you want the pocket guy who’s incredibly smart and can maneuver in the pocket extremely well, accurate to every level, off-the-charts intelligence, it would be Mac Jones. I think the smarts and the accuracy is why it would tip the scales to Mac Jones.” JEREMIAH >> “I don’t think he fits all the teams that are in the quarterback market. But I understand why the 49ers value what he does, because this is really an opportunity for San Francisco to duplicate what Mac Jones had at Alabama, which is you have a really good offensive line, you’ve got guys that can win oneon-one match-ups all over the field, and you’ve got a very creative play-caller that’s going to find those match-ups and then rely on an accurate, efficient quarterback to function in that system.
“Every other team doesn’t have all those things in place, so they’re not going to value Mac the way Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch might value him. That’s a little bit where that disconnect is. Look, if he goes to the 49ers, he’s going to play well, he’s going to be a really good player there.”
The skinny on Jones
• Set NCAA record with a 77.4 completion percentage while throwing for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions in his first full season as starter. Won Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Manning awards.
• Michael McCorkle Jones grew up in Jacksonville before spending four seasons at Alabama. The 6-foot-2 1/2, 217-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds. He initially sat behind future NFL starters Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.
• He was arrested his freshman year for suspicion of driving under the influence, as well as having an “improper ID by a minor,” after being involved in a non-injury car accident.
• Shanahan and 49ers GM John Lynch attended Jones’ pro day March 30, to which Jones told NFL Network: “I’m really happy that they came. The trade is the trade. Hopefully, I impressed them. I would love to get a chance to play anywhere in the NFL, but obviously with a great franchise like that.”