Lack of mobility shouldn't limit Mac Jones in this year's NFL draft

Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith both prefer Mac Jones to Tua Tagovailoa

Heading into last season, Mel Kiper Jr. gave Mac Jones a modest third- or fourth-round grade. Five months and 4,500 passing yards later, the NFL draft guru has changed his tune quite a bit.

Kiper hasn’t been shy in his admiration of Jones, projecting him at No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers in his most recent mock draft last month. During a conference call with the media on Monday, the analyst doubled down on that evaluation, stating he can’t see the Alabama quarterback falling too far in next month’s NFL draft

"I think top 15,” Kiper said. “I think New England at 15 would be the furthest he would be able to drop."

Jones has come a long way since last offseason when doubters questioned if he would be able to hold off five-star freshman Bryce Young for the starting role behind center in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The previously underappreciated quarterback has seen his draft stock soar in recent months after putting together a record-breaking year in which he set NCAA single-season records in completion percentage (77.4 percent) and quarterback efficiency rating (203.06) while leading the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national title.

Monday, Kiper was asked if he could see Jones furthering that rise even more during Alabama’s pro day on March 23.

“It will be hard,” Kiper replied. “He’s already way up there. I think now he wants to maintain. He’s shown enough.

“The concern would be, have we moved him up too high? That’s always the thing. How high do you move a player who started out the year with a fourth-round grade, third, fourth-round grade at best when the season began because he only had four starts. So you’re waiting to see, can he build on the four starts that we saw there? And he did.”

While Kiper isn’t wavering in his assessment of Jones, there are some question marks surrounding the Alabama quarterback.

One of the biggest criticisms Jones faces is the amount of talent he had surrounding him while with the Tide. Alabama will likely produce two first-round receivers for the second straight year in Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. In addition, Jones was also working with the Doak Walker Award winner in running back Najee Harris as well as an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award with Outland Trophy winner Alex Leatherwood at left tackle and Rimington Trophy winner Landon Dickerson at center.

Kiper addressed those concerns during the call, pointing out that last year’s No. 1 pick, Joe Burrow, had a similarly-talented supporting cast at LSU.

“A lot of these quarterbacks these days have great talent around them,” Kiper said. “Joe Burrow had more talent than anybody. Did that affect the way he played this year when he looked like a definite franchise quarterback? … You have to look at every case individually but you can’t penalize a guy for being a quarterback at Alabama or being a quarterback at LSU or Ohio State or wherever it may be. They’re going to have talent around them.

“Mac Jones had an awesome array of talent around him, but to be as accurate as he was at all levels, to be able to make something out of nothing like he did in that Ohio State championship game in a key play in the football game when he manipulated the pocket, moved around a little bit and then sensed and felt pressure very effectively and made an accurate throw. To me, leadership, competitiveness, what he did at the Senior Bowl, all that is gonna make him a top-15 pick.”

Jones also enters the draft with a small sample size as a starter. After playing behind current NFL starters Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa early in his college career, Jones has just 17 starts to his name at the college level. While the All-American boasts an impressive 16-1 mark over that span, NFL teams would have liked to see him continue that success over a longer stretch.

There’s also been some worry over Jones’ lack of athleticism behind center. Unlike the other top quarterbacks in this year’s class, the 6-foot-3, 217-pound pocket passer doesn’t offer much dual-threat ability.

Last week, Kiper commented on Jones’ lack of mobility, stating the Alabama quarterback was able to move well enough in the pocket to make up for his lack of speed and agility. While that should keep Jones in the top half of the first round, his inability to gain yards with his feet could put a ceiling on his draft stock.

“The accuracy at over 77 percent this year is the reason why he goes from a late-round pick like we were talking about when the season began to maybe a top 10-15 pick, a probable top 10-15 pick,” Kiper said. “The only criticism right now and the only reason why people maybe aren’t pushing him up there as the second-best quarterback in this year’s draft is because of the lack of speed and the lack of top athleticism. That’s it. But that doesn't mean he can’t be a heck of a quarterback.”