As a Patriots fan, you can’t complain about Mac Jones in his rookie season. From the start, he did just about everything you could have wanted from your first-round quarterback. He was never the reason for a Patriots loss. He passed for 3,801 yards and 22 scores, completing 67.6 percent of his passes. The Pats got their guy at 15, and based on his rookie season he’ll be around for a long time.
But we’ve all seen quarterbacks hit the sophomore slump in their second season. Baker Mayfield, Robert Griffin III, and Sam Bradford were all quarterbacks who had great rookie seasons and never looked the same afterward. With the Patriots losing their offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones will have to face a less than desirable challenge of learning a new face to coordinate with in his second season.
The Patriots won’t be the big spenders they were in the last off-season. Their cap space is slim and they have a ton of names to retain. Offensive linemen Trent Brown and Ted Karras are among them, as well as wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (restricted free agent). So the Patriots can’t just buy Mac Jones the support he needs. They’re going to have to hit on picks in the draft and make some necessary changes internally. But what are those picks and changes, specifically? I hope to discover those in this piece and deliver some insight on what I think the Patriots could do to ensure that Mac Jones continues to progress in 2022.
Draft A Playmaker for Mac
Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor are all great complementary pieces to this offense. But I don’t think anybody would say that they are the dynamic playmaker that this offense has lacked since Brandin Cooks in 2017 or the years of Rob Gronkowski. Tom Brady never really had the superstar receiver, but he didn’t need it to be great. Brady was able to elevate 7th round scraps like Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and others into becoming dependable pieces on the Patriots’ offense.
Mac Jones isn’t Tom Brady. In all odds, he won’t win six Super Bowls and three MVP awards in his time in New England. It doesn’t mean he’s bad, but he is going to need some help on the offense. There are plenty of receivers in this draft class. Alabama has two in John Metchie III and Jameson Williams (torn ACL, probably won’t have much to offer year one). Drake London from USC, Chris Olave from Ohio State, and Treylon Burks from Arkansas should also be on the Patriots’ scouting report. Drafting a pass-catcher is going to have to be high on the Pats’ checklist. They probably won’t be able to afford a Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson type on the open market with their tight cap space. Nor do they have the capital to land somebody like Calvin Ridley from the Atlanta Falcons via trade.
No Radical Changes to Offense
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The Patriots are losing their offensive coordinator of 10-years in Josh McDaniels. For all of his faults in less than ideal play-calling and a lack of innovation, he knew the offense inside and out. A presence like McDaniels played a big part in Mac Jones’s almost seamless transition from college to pros.
Because of this departure, the Patriots brought back former Giants head coach Joe Judge as an “offensive assistant”. He has some familiarity with the Patriots offense as he was the wide receivers coach for them in addition to being the special team’s coordinator in the 2019 season.
I don’t like the idea of not having a coordinator on offense or defense. I’m afraid it leaves too much on Bill Belichick’s plate and with him going to be 70-years-old at season’s start? It doesn’t spark too much confidence in his ability to have his hands in everything all at once. Belichick is best when he can roam and tap in only when he needs to. I would’ve loved to see a Bill O’Brien return to Foxboro or for one of the younger Patriots staffers to take the reigns of this offense. But apparently, nobody was ready to step up and BoB wasn’t interested in an NFL coordinator job at this moment.
I can’t see Joe Judge having too many radical ideas of his own. But the continuity of whatever system the Patriots have right now is important to the success of Mac Jones long-term. We can’t be throwing something totally brand new at him in his second season. He’s still learning, and as much as new things will be realized in time, we can’t change up the style of the offense so soon. Don’t back off the run game, keep up with a timing-oriented passing attack, and slowly introduce new things. Instead of trying to show him something brand new just after a really successful campaign in his rookie year.
Keep Strong Defensive Presence
This one’s easier said than done. The Patriots kept an overall, unthreatening offense in the game for most of the year. Eventually, both units shot themselves in the foot down the stretch, but the defense usually gave the offense a chance to win. Mac Jones didn’t have to make too much magic or play hero ball. Which is exactly what you want to do for your quarterback.
This off-season won’t make it easy to repeat that process. A lot of experience is likely headed out the door this offseason with Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Jamie Collins all destined to be free agents come the new league year. Between regression and contract demands, it’s hard to imagine more than two or three of these players return in 2022.
There are going to be some steep growing pains for this unit next season. In a lot of areas, the Patriots are just going to have to roll with what they have. If McCourty is to retire? Expect Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger to try out that free safety position. No Hightower or Collins? Raekwon McMillan, Josh Uche, Cameron McGrone, and others are going to have to take on larger roles.
The J.C. Jackson Dillema
Meanwhile, at the corner position, there will need to be a major investment in the draft at the position, possibly as early as pick 21, if Jackson is going to get paid elsewhere. Joejuan Williams, Myles Bryant, and Shaun Wade are nowhere close to ready to cover the likes of Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle, and other top receivers.
As much as J.C. Jackson was disappointing down the stretch and ultimately out of his league when covering the likes of Stefon Diggs, he’s the best corner the Patriots have. And his price is more than likely going to be out of the Patriots range. Unless he’s franchise-tagged, he’s not returning. And I don’t think that Bill Belichick looks at the Patriots in their current state as a star corner away from a Super Bowl title. There’s still work to do, and keeping Jackson around on an expensive contract for one more year isn’t going to bring them any closer to their dream.
Concluding Thoughts
This isn’t going to be easy for Mac Jones. A young quarterback losing his familiar offensive coordinator, on a team that’s on the verge of some major changes across the offensive line and the entire defense. A lot more pressure is going to be put on the shoulders of the soon-to-be 24-year-old quarterback. And he won’t have much of a safety blanket to help soften the landing.
That being said, it doesn’t hurt to have the greatest head coach in football history on your sideline. Bill Belichick has helped establish a strong run game with the likes of Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson, as well as give Jones two great weapons at tight end in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith (who will hopefully get the ball in his hands more in 2022).
This off-season is going to tell us a lot about what Belichick thinks this team is capable of and it’ll show just how much he thinks of Jones. Though we can rest easy that the collective goal in the front offices in Foxboro is a step forward, not a step back. Going from 7-9 to 10-7 is an amazing bounceback. Where can they go from here with Jones at the helm?
