Report: Broncos to meet with Alabama quarterback Mac Jones next week

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones met with the media today ahead of his Pro Day coming up later this week. During this session, George Stoia of the CSU Gazette and the Denver Gazette was told that Mac Jones will meet virtually with the Denver Broncos next week.

Jones continued by saying he likes the Broncos offense and is familiar with Jerry Jeudy because the two were teammates and roommates.

As we know, the Broncos have been doing their due diligence on the quarterback prospects this offseason. General Manager George Paton attended Trey Lance’s and Zach Wilson’s Pro Day, had his scouts and Brian Stark at the Alabama pro day to watch Mac Jones throw, and now will meet with Jones virtually sometime next week. The Ohio State pro day is tomorrow so we’ll see if Paton watches Justin Field’s pro day.

Mac Jones has been considered the 5th quarterback of this class behind Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, and Trey Lance, but could he be the third quarterback off the board? That appears to be the hot rumor after the San Francisco 49ers made a major trade up to the 3rd overall selection. Many initially assumed the move was for Fields or Trey Lance, but now the common thought among NFL appears to be that the 49ers moved up for Mac Jones.

NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Mac Jones as his 34th best prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Jones has average size and athleticism for the quarterback position. He’s operated out of the shotgun and pistol, showing incredible accuracy, efficiency and poise. He is a high-effort thrower, with slightly above-average arm strength. He’s at his best on touch throws, where he can anticipate and place the ball on the proper shoulder of his target. He shows toughness to hang in versus pressure, although he rarely faced it with an elite offensive line protecting him. He isn’t much of a threat as a runner and he lacks the twitch to consistently escape and buy extra time. Jones should become a starting NFL quarterback, but his lack of twitch and athleticism will limit the playbook with the way the game is trending.

Jones might be the most polished of the quarterback prospects outside of Trevor Lawrence. He’s accurate and was successful at Alabama. However, there are questions about his game. Some are worried about his arm strength and lack of athleticism, if he was a product of the talent around him at Alabama, and if he has enough upside to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL.

In my opinion, I would rather see the Broncos select a Trey Lance or Justin Fields if available in the first-round. I would even rather roll the dice on Drew Lock suddenly figuring it out instead of spending a premium pick for Mac Jones. With that said, if these Mac Jones rumors are true, maybe the NFL likes Mac Jones more than we assume.