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How high will Mac Jones get drafted? Mel Kiper Jr. makes his prediction
By SDS Staff
Published:
Mac Jones’ rise from being Tua Tagovailoa’s backup to a potential first-round pick has been meteoric.
Jones won’t wow anyone with his athleticism or arm strength, but his surgical accuracy and critical decision-making will.
The Alabama quarterback leads the nation’s most explosive offense, and while Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith certainly have much to do with that, Jones makes it all work.
Jones hasn’t revealed whether he’ll enter the NFL Draft or return to Alabama for another season, but if he were to enter the draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. made a prediction as to how high he could go.
“His accuracy on all levels is really incredible,” Kiper said Monday on ESPN’s Get Up, via 247Sports. “I think the way he played this year, after only four starts last season, and to not have (Henry) Ruggs, to not have (Jerry) Jeudy and then Waddle got hurt and it’s the DeVonta Smith show. His accuracy, no matter who’s out there, is spectacular. He is not Joe Burrow. Those comparisons are exaggerated. He doesn’t beat you with his legs like Burrow did. He’s not the runner Burrow is. That’s what beat Alabama, is the legs.
“When you look at Mac Jones, middle of the first round sits the New England Patriots. We know about the Saban-Belichick connection. Is Mac Jones going to be a Patriot? We’ll see. That’s, I think, the ceiling, as high as Mac Jones could come off the board is the middle of the first round.”
The Alabama quarterback has completed 275-of-357 passes (77 percent) with 36 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Jones will lead Alabama’s offense against Ohio State’s defense Monday night in the national title.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
