The Mac Jones hype train is gaining a lot of steam in the lead up to the 2021 NFL Draft, and it's easy to see why.
Jones was prolific last year for Alabama, completing 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just four interceptions en route to an undefeated season and a national title for the Crimson Tide. He has been getting a lot of praise for his performance, and he is drawing some pretty lofty comparisons ahead of the draft.
Curran: Ranking the top five quarterback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
None can top what ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had to say about Jones. The long-time draft analyst compared Jones' skill set to that of Tom Brady, especially in terms of his intelligence and ability to see the field.
"I hate to say, but he kind of has a little bit of [Tom] Brady in him," Kiper said, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. "I'm not saying he's ever going to be Tom Brady. He wouldn't be close, probably. But he has that competitiveness, and he's so smart -- he picked that offense up [at the Senior Bowl] like it was nothing. Other quarterbacks were struggling with the verbiage and -- 'boom!' -- he was in and out of the huddle quicker than anybody I've ever seen.
"Then he sees the field. He's tremendously accurate to all levels. He doesn't have the 'wow' arm, like Brady didn't either coming into the league. And like Brady, he's not real mobile, not a runner. But biding time, slipping and sliding, he did it in the championship game. So there are some similarities there."
Kiper may have fallen short of proclaiming Jones to be the next Brady, but this comparison is still notable and is indicative of Jones' high-level skill set.
New England Patriots
This also isn't the first time Jones has been compared to Brady. Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, recently compared Jones' pocket presence to that of Brady on a recent episode of Phil Perry's Next Pats Podcast.
Next Pats Podcast - Jim Nagy makes a compelling argument for why Mac Jones would excel with Patriots | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Maybe these comparisons are part of the reason that former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis thinks Jones would be a great fit with the team. It also doesn't hurt that Bill Belichick has a close relationship with Jones' college coach, Nick Saban.
Jones certainly sounds like an appealing target for quarterback-needy teams, so perhaps the Patriots will be interested in him -- if they are in range to land him. Right now, Kiper has the Patriots trading up to pick a different quarterback in his latest mock draft.
When it's all said and done, the Patriots may have to move up if they want to get Jones come draft day. But if they get lucky and he's there at 15, they could pull the trigger on him in hopes that he can help fill the void left behind by Brady.