Chicago Bears: Mac Jones putting concerns to rest at Senior Bowl

While Chicago Bears fans work themselves into a lather over the prospects of trading for Houston Texans Deshaun Watson, the reality is that is still a long shot for a variety of reasons. Assuming the Bears aren’t able to pull off a dramatic deal for the superstar, they will be looking elsewhere in free agency and likely the NFL Draft for their franchise signal-caller.

One player they may have their eye on with the 20th overall pick is Alabama University’s quarterback Mac Jones.

It’s likely the elite quarterbacks like Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance will all be long gone by the time pick No. 20 rolls around. So absent a trade up, there is a very good chance Jones is the most realistic target come April.

It’s no secret “yours truly” has long been a fan of Jones’ game, well before he finished his remarkable statistical season. For some time, I have believed he may be the best option for the Bears and laid out the reasons why in this in-depth piece.

While I have been on the Jones hype train for a while, a big criticism of him has been he only had the season he did because of the talent around him and “he’s not as good as his teammates made him look.” I long believed that to be an incorrect, unfair, and overblown narrative and that the Senior Bowl would be an opportunity to showcase his talents with a new supporting cast.

Chicago Bears quarterback prospect putting concerns to rest.

And early returns are really good. It appears the Jones is having himself quite an outing thus far down in Mobile. In fact, two separate evaluators, Louis Riddick and Matt Miller both commented on how well Jones has done thus far, particularly on Wednesday when he looked fantastic.

Of note, all of his strengths that many of us have touted for so long were on display. In other words, he is still doing all of the things he did at Alabama very well even without the supporting cast he had there. His football IQ, accuracy, decision-making, command, and leadership were all clearly on display at the Senior Bowl.

For Jones, he is hoping to put those concerns to rest and show the rest of the NFL he’s capable of being a franchise quarterback. Interestingly, one former NFL head coach said recently Jones is the best quarterback in the draft and should be taken No. 1 overall when it is all said and done. Even for this Jones supporter, that seems hyperbolic, but it does speak to the impressive showing Jones is having down in Mobile.