Getty Mac Jones
M
ac Jones is already entering a crucial year in his young NFL career. The New England Patriots quarterback will look to build off a strong rookie season and show that he is the real deal.
Jones was the best rookie QB in the entire NFL. He threw for 3,801 yards and also had 22 touchdowns, leading all rookie quarterbacks across the league.
ALL the latest Patriots news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Patriots newsletter here!
Unfortunately, for Jones and the Patriots, their season ended in disappointment with the Buffalo Bills knocked New England out of the playoffs. Still, Jones made the Pro Bowl which capped off a strong season.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport believes that the pressure will be on Jones in 2022 as expectations will be higher this upcoming season.
“Given the expectations for success that dominating the AFC for two decades have created in New England, the pressure is on the Patriots to do more than have a cup of coffee in the postseason in 2022,” Davenport wrote. “This team is supposed to make some hay in the playoffs.
“For that to happen, Jones is going to need to take a sizable step forward in his second season. And while the Patriots brought in a new top target for Jones in the passing game, there are also factors that aren’t going to make progress in 2022 any easier.”
How did the Patriots Improve Ahead of the 2022 Season?
Jones will have plenty of weapons to throw the ball to this season.
DeVante Parker was acquired via trade and he will look to be the Patriots’ top wide receiver. After being acquired by New England, Parker became the only wide receiver to ever eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
Parker has been impressed with what he has seen from Jones so far.
“He’s a leader,” Parker said. “He’s a young guy, but he’s vocal as a leader. That’s what this team needs. And even though I’ve just been out here a few weeks, I still see it.”
Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers are also still with the Patriots. Bourne recorded 800 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns while Meyers led the team with 866 receiving yards.
Jones can also throw to Hunter Henry who is coming off a superb season at tight end. Henry recorded 50 catches for 603 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Will Playcalling Affect Jones?
Jones will have a new coach relaying plays to him this season. Josh McDaniels is now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and Joe Judge or Matt Patricia appear to be the frontrunners to gain the responsibility.
Whoever gets the duty will be doing so with relatively little experience. Patricia has spent most of his career coaching the defense while Judge has little experience coaching on offense.
While Jones is a great quarterback, whoever calls plays could affect how he performs in 2022.
“No one should question Jones’ ability to pick up a new scheme—from all indications, he’s a highly intelligent young signal-caller who seemed to acclimate to McDaniels’ offense a year ago with relative ease,” wrote Davenport.
“But even if whoever’s new offense in New England is similar to the one he already knows, instead of taking play calls from one of the most highly regarded offensive minds in the league, in 2022 he will be doing so from either an assistant with exponentially more experience on defense than offense (Patricia), a special teams coach with very limited offensive experience (Judge) or a man known a lot more for crafting defensive game plans than offensive ones (Belichick).”
The success of Jones will determine if the Patriots make a playoff run or struggle in 2022. There is no doubt that the pressure will be on the youngster this season.