Patriots' Mac Jones: Draws praise from his head coach
Coach Bill Belichick noted Tuesday that he has observed "dramatic improvement" from Jones, who is approaching his second campaign as a pro, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports. "He did a great job last year, but he's starting from a much, much higher point this year from where he started last year," Belichick noted of the 2021 first-rounder.
After overtaking veteran signal-caller Cam Newton ahead of Week 1 last year, Jones completed 352 of his 521 passing attempts for 3,801 yards, with 22 TDs and 13 interceptions. In addition to having a full season as an NFL starter under his belt, Jones has, according to Belichick, made strides in terms of his "physical work and conditioning, mechanics, footwork, understanding of our offense [and] opponent defenses." While Jones figures to helm a New England attack fueled by the RB duo of Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson, the offseason trade for DeVante Parker and the drafting of speedy Tyquan Thornton has added to a solid array of pass catching targets that also includes returning WRs Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne, as well as TEs Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. With that in mind, there's room for Jones to improve as a fantasy producer in 2022, but his upside on that front hinges in large part upon the team's approach on offense now that long-time coordinator Josh McDaniels has moved on to coach the Raiders.
