Chicago Bears NFL Draft: Mac Jones may be the best option

Mac Jones would fit in nicely with the Chicago Bears

Some fans may shudder at the thought that by the time his career is over, he’ll have only one full season of starting experience, despite starting a handful of games in 2019. It may remind them of Mitch Trubisky. But let’s be clear, comparing Trubisky’s one season to Jones’ one season is like comparing apples and whatever is the polar opposite of apples.

While Trubisky wasn’t able to beat out a mediocre quarterback at UNC and eventually feasted on middle of the pack teams in the ACC, Jones sat behind a top-five pick and has dominated in the toughest conference in the country — the SEC.

Jones has demonstrated that he can perform on the big stage, and will likely have a chance to display his abilities on the biggest stage in the College Football Playoff.

Moreover, his deep ball accuracy is something that Bears fans haven’t seen in years. It cannot be overstated how elite he is throwing the ball deep. In fact, he has only one interception on passes thrown more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage. By contrast, against the Packers last week, on passes more than 15 yards, Trubisky was 1/7 with 2 INTs.

Another trait of Jones’ that stands out is his ball placement. As I alluded to above, even though his wider receivers are phenomenal, Jones’ ball placement is outstanding. He always hits his receivers on time, in stride and on target, which allows them to run after the catch for long gains. This would be a refreshing change for Bears’ fans who have routinely watched their receivers have to drop to both knees to smother a pass, or fully extend on a routine crosser with nothing but green grass in front of them.

Simply put, Jones is the antithesis of Trubisky in so many ways. While he is not a very mobile quarterback, he is elusive enough in the pocket to step up and make throws, even if he’s not a threat to scramble.

Bottom Line

If the Bears are not within range of one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the NFL Draft, their best bet would be to target Mac Jones. If they could somehow figure out a way to get him in the second round after taking a tackle in the first, that would be a home run, though he is playing himself firmly into the first round at the moment.