The 2021 NFL Draft was headlined by five quarterbacks being selected in the top 15 picks, including New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.
Jones had a strong debut season for the Patriots and led them to a 10-7 record and a wild card playoff berth in the AFC. He also topped all rookie quarterbacks with a 67.6 completion percentage, 3,801 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns.
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SIGN UP HERE Year 2 has been a struggle for Jones. Not only did he miss three games with an ankle injury, his performance has suffered as well. Jones has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 993 yards with just three touchdowns and seven interceptions in five games.
Based on what we know a year-and-a-half into Jones' career, where would he go in a redraft of the 2021 NFL Draft?
Well, according to NFL Network analyst and former No. 1 overall draft pick David Carr, Jones would go far, far lower than his original spot at No. 15.
Carr's redrafting of the 2021 quarterbacks saw Jones slip to the seventh of eight players taken. He projects that Jones would be selected in the second, third or even fourth round (!) if that draft was held today.
This list is completely disrespectful to Jones for several reasons.
First off, there's no way Jones is a third or fourth-round quarterback. He has shown plenty of potential in 22 career games, and it's not like he's had an elite cast of skill position teammates around him.
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Second, how is Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger ahead of Jones when he has thrown 20 passes in his career? Ehlinger wasn't amazing at the University of Texas and hasn't given much, if any, indication that his pro career will be better.
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Zach Wilson shouldn't be above Jones, either, despite being the No. 2 pick in that draft. The Jets quarterback has completed just 55.4 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 18 career games. He played absolutely awful in last week's loss to the Patriots, too. It's early, but Wilson might not be a starting-caliber QB at the pro level.
Trevor Lawrence as a mid-to-late first-round pick is an interesting take, too. The former Clemson star and 2021 No. 1 overall pick is still a tremendous talent and probably would be faring better if he wasn't on the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars don't exactly have a rich history of quarterbacks or player development.
Jones has not taken the leap in his development that many people expected in Year 2. In fairness to Jones, he's had plenty of challenges along the way. The ankle injury didn't help, and neither did the Patriots replacing an elite offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels with two coaches in Matt Patricia and Joe Judge who don't possess anywhere near the same level of offensive acumen.
The 2021 QB class has been disappointing to this point, but there's no way Jones would be the seventh of eight players drafted at his position if the 2021 draft was held today.