Now, former greats from the National Football League are talking about Mac Jones.
He has the University of Alabama in position to win a Southeastern Conference Championship and potentially a national title, but is he also a first round pick for the 2021 NFL Draft?
The redshirt junior has certainly performed like one at quarterback through five regular season games. He’s completed 115 of 146 passes (78.8 percent) for 1,905 yards with 12 touchdowns to two interceptions.
Jones leads the SEC in passing yards and completion percentage, while ranking second for touchdown passes. He also carries the highest passer rating (212.80) and total quarterback rating (96.6) for the league too.
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Not only is he the best in the conference, but Jones is also among the top-five quarterbacks nationally in almost every major statistical category. He has the Crimson Tide boasting the nation’s third-highest scoring offense (48.4 ppg) and third-best total offense (566.4 ypg), while being the lone signal caller in program history to record three straight 400-yard passing games.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Jones has overtaken Trevor Lawrence of Clemson for the top spot in the Heisman race via Pro Football Focus.
According to Patrick Surtain Sr., a former NFL cornerback, he said Jones is a first-round pick.
The sample size is big enough. @MacJones_10 is a 1st round pick. Dude is unbelievable
— PAT SURTAINl (@psurtain23) October 25, 2020
Surtain played 11 years (1998-08) in the league with the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, collecting 538 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, 37 interceptions and two touchdowns. He was invited to three straight Pro Bowls (2002-04) and made first-team NFL All-Pro in 2002.
Although his son — Patrick Surtain II — is at Alabama too and is viewed as a first-rounder at corner, Surtain sees Jones as the real deal.
His post to Twitter on Jones came after his performance against Tennessee.
The 6-foot-3, 214-pounder completed 25 of 31 passes (80.6%) for 387 yards in a 48-17 win for the Tide.
He was 13 yards shy of his fourth straight 400-yard game and 13 yards away from being the first quarterback of the Nick Saban era to toss for 400 yards versus the Volunteers. Joe Burrow, who was selected No. 1 overall in April by the Cincinnati Bengals, had a lower completion rating (78.4%), fewer passing yards (1,732), a lower passer rating (199.92) and a lower quarterback rating (93.4 total QBR) through his first five SEC games in 2019 than Jones has now.
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Burrow of LSU ended last season as the Heisman Trophy winner.
It is definitely time for NFL scouts and teams to start looking at Jones as a first-rounder.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
