Mel Kiper Compares Alabama QB Mac Jones to Tom Brady

As the NFL Draft approaches, Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay continue to work hard, producing multiple mock draft situations for every team. This year’s draft will see a plethora of quarterbacks going in the first round. Teams will be pushing and shoving in pursuit of landing their future franchise quarterback. All the quarterbacks in the draft have their individual accolades, but the most intriguing selection could be Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.

“What you need with a quarterback is competitiveness through the roof. Mac Jones has that. Tom Brady had that. You need to have an incredibly smart quarterback. That’s Mac Jones. That was Tom Brady. It is Tom Brady. Certainly, that leadership, that ability to galvanize, Mac has that — coming out of Michigan, coming out of Alabama. So, there are similarities there. It’s going to be unfortunate that people are going to have those high expectations if he goes to New England that they are getting the next Tom Brady, but that is life in the big city as they say. No matter where you go you’re going to be expected to be really, really good.”

“Mac playing at Alabama is probably prepared for that probably more than anybody else. This notion that they have all the talent around him allowed him to be successful is unfair. Tua had more talent around him than Mac Jones did, so there you go.”

Jones is not like the other quarterbacks that will be selected this year. He is not going to escape from the pocket and break a highlight-type run, but what he can do is manipulate the pocket like a veteran. He has an extremely high football IQ with the ability to throw the football wherever he wants. Coach Nick Saban has prepared him to run a pro-style offense during his tenure at Alabama. He also spent time learning from current NFL quarterbacks: Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.

Many quarterbacks from the University of Alabama have fallen flat on their faces when they get to the NFL, but Mac Jones may be the exception. DeVonta Smith may have won the Heisman Trophy, but without Mac Jones being able to get him the ball or his leadership, Smith could have been an afterthought. Jones finished his Alabama career with 7,126 passing yards and 56 touchdowns. He will also finish with the single-season record for an Alabama quarterback in Passing Yards (4,500), Completion Percentage (77.4%), QB Efficiency, and owns 5 of the 11 400 yard passing games in team history.

If the Buccaneers could land Jones at No. 32, it could be a smooth transition Post-Brady. FIRE THE CANNONS!