All eyes will be on Mac Jones as the Alabama quarterback takes part in his second pro day Tuesday. The most notable of those onlookers will be San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, who will both reportedly be in Tuscaloosa, Ala. to take in the workout.
According to a report from NBC Sports’ Peter King, Shanahan and Lynch will attend Jones’ workout while 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters will be in Columbus, Ohio to take in Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields’ pro day which will also take place Tuesday. The decision seems to signify that the 49ers might prioritize Jones over Fields, which could be significant given last week’s trade which saw them move to No. 3 overall in the draft.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is thought of as a lock to go No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while BYU quarterback Zach Wilson is heavily projected to the Jets at No. 2 overall. There is less certainty over what the 49ers will do after trading up to the No. 3 spot. However, after giving up three first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up, it’s a safe bet they’ll take a quarterback with the pick.
During a Zoom call with reporters Monday, Jones was asked about some of the rumors linking him to San Francisco and the No. 3 pick. The former Alabama quarterback said that he is happy that the 49ers will be in attendance Tuesday but stated he’s currently focused on putting on his best possible performance regardless of the situation.
“It takes one team to kind of like fall in love with a guy, and hopefully I can do that,” Jones said. “Whatever team wants to do that would be awesome. At the end of the day, I’m not surprised that there are some teams that are going to be trading up, and the 49ers would be awesome to play for. But at the end of the day, I can’t look at it too much and let it be a distraction. They’re going to pick who they’re going to pick, and I’m just going to go in and work like I did for four years at Alabama, and hopefully, it works out in the long run.”
Jones is one of five quarterbacks viewed as possible first-round picks in this year’s class, joining Lawrence, Wilson, Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. While Jones is the least athletic of that bunch, the Alabama quarterback believes he has an edge in the mental aspect of the game where he has impressed teams with his ability to break down plays.
“This quarterback class is a really great class, and I’m just blessed to be a part of it,” Jones said. “Obviously you can watch the guys’ tape and see that we all have great tape. What separates me is my preparation and my ability to take what I learn from the coaches meetings and my own meetings and apply it to the field. I’m going to do exactly what the coach tells me to do, and I’m going to play within the framework of the offense.”
Jones said there have been Zoom meetings with NFL teams where he has wowed coaches with his recall while dissecting plays on tape.
“Some teams will pull up games and plays from last year, and I’ll remember every detail that all 22 people were doing,” Jones said. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe I have a little bit of a photographic memory, but I just remember. If it’s a good play or a bad play, I’ll just remember what it was. They really don’t have to roll the tape, and I’ll remember.”
Later in the day, Alabama head coach Nick Saban also spoke to Jones’ processing ability, stating the right-hander rarely made mental mistakes on the field.
“Mac has the ability to make plays because he’s smart, he’s accurate, he’s gonna throw the ball to the right place and he’s gonna always help the offensive team be in the right situation, whether it’s a run or a pass or whatever,” Saban said. “So he is really, really smart, but he’s always really well-prepared. But I think he analyzes what’s gonna happen before it happens in terms of what the expectation is for him on that particular play, and he has a good visualization of what our players are doing and how the defense is gonna react to it relative to what they do. And I think that’s what helps his decision-making process so that he makes good choices and decisions.”
During Alabama’s first pro day last week, Jones was able to dispel some of the concerns surrounding his athleticism as he recorded times of 4.72 and 4.68 in the 40-yard dash while posting a 32-inch vertical leap.
Monday, he was asked about concerns over his ability to roll out and run bootleg plays.
“I ran the 4.7 40, so that should help out,” Jones said with a laugh. “I know what you’re saying about wide zone, boot and stuff like that. Actually, going back, that’s one of my favorite plays to run. I know we didn’t do a lot of it last year because we didn’t have to, but if you ask Coach [Mike] Locksley, I’d always be like, ‘Hey can, we get a naked right here?’ Or start scrimmage off with a naked, which is the naked bootleg you’re talking about.
“… I can do it all. Obviously there’s not a ton of tape on it, but even in high school I ran like the Wing T, so there was a lot of moving and throwing on the run. So it’s all stuff I’ve done in the past. I’m working on that now, and tomorrow I’ll get a chance to show some of that as well.”
During Alabama’s first pro day last week, Jones took part in a rigorous throwing session in which he exceeded his pre-planned routine of 50 throws. During that workout, he was without many of the weapons that saw him rewrite the record books last season as receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle as well as running back Najee Harris all elected not to participate in the first pro day.
Tuesday, Jones said he will definitely throw to Harris as well as tight ends Miller Forristall and Carl Tucker. In addition Jacksonville State wide receiver K.J. Stepherson will also run routes for the Alabama quarterback. As for Smith and Waddle, Jones said the receivers are still deciding whether or not they want to take part in activities Tuesday. However, if they do, he has a script for them ready.
Other than that, Jones is looking to expand his routine a bit more from last week to further showcase his skill set.
“All they want to see is how your feet move and how the ball comes out and how you interact with your teammates,” Jones said. “I feel like I did that well, but this next pro day, there’s going to be some deep shots and things like that. The offense we had here is a lot of the stuff I’m basing it off of. We did a lot of pro-style stuff, but some under-center, play-action, just show a little bit of everything. Hopefully some of the teams can see what they do and kind of envision what I’m doing out there and kind of apply it to their offense.”
Nick Saban talks Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith ahead of NFL Draft
