It’s been a few years since we saw a team trade up as high as the San Francisco 49ers did without having much of an idea of who they are looking at. But one NFL insider believes Mac Jones is the guy for the 49ers.
In an eight-part thread on Twitter, NFL insider Michael Silver listed off some reasons that the 49ers will take Jones. He pointed out that the timing of the trade, coinciding with the 49ers attending Mac Jones’ Alabama Pro Day, was a big reason they made the blockbuster trade with the Miami Dolphins.
“It is my belief that the player the Niners were targeting when they made the trade… was Alabama QB Mac Jones,” Silver wrote. “(Obviously, you only make this move if you also are very high on Lawrence and Wilson)…”
Silver said that the 49ers attended the Pro Days of Ohio State QB Justin Fields and NDSU QB Trey Lance to do some “extra digging”. But ultimately he doesn’t expect them to change their minds.
“Once they made the trade, (head coach Kyle) Shanahan, GM John Lynch & other important decision-makers had the luxury of doing some extra digging. Both Ohio State’s Justin Fields & North Dakota St.’s Trey Lance have many attractive qualities, and there’s no reason not to continue the process…”
3) It is my belief that the player the Niners were targeting when they made the trade–under the assumption that Lawrence & Wilson would go 1-2 to the Jags and Jets–was Alabama QB Mac Jones. (Obviously, you only make this move if you also are very high on Lawrence and Wilson)…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2021
5) I’d expect, in all likelihood, that Shanahan will stick with his original inclination and won’t end up deciding he likes Fields or Lance more than Jones… and that he’ll never get a shot at Lawrence or Wilson, who will be off the board…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2021
7) Jones comes from a tennis-playing family and spent some time on the hardcourt as a kid, and that seems to correlate with the exceptional footwork. He clearly has absorbed a lot of football knowledge, and the synchronization of his throwing motion and footwork is impressive…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2021
Mac Jones is coming off a historic year for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He went 13-0 as a starter, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 77.4-percent of his passes.
Jones finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind teammate DeVonta Smith. But he ended his college career on a high note with a national title win.
Prior to the 2020 season, Jones wasn’t exactly viewed as an elite prospect. But after the season he just had, he could be heading to one of the NFC’s most talented teams.
Will Mac Jones be the No. 3 overall pick by the 49ers?
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