The Patriots have elected to go with the rookie at quarterback, with Mac Jones beating out Cam Newton for the job.
Once Jones was drafted, it was always a matter of when, not if, he would take over as QB1. But offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels explained part of why Jones earned the role now is the work he put into it over the course of the offseason and training camp.
“Well, I think it’s an evaluation when you look at the whole body of work since he got here,” McDaniels said, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “He really works hard. He puts a lot of time into it. He’s been well prepared each day to come in and do the things that we ask our guys to do. He’s learned how to operate what we’ve asked him to operate so far fairly well. And he’s improved. And he continues to make progress. He’s generally taken care of the football. And he’s given the other 10 guys on the field an opportunity to do their job effectively and produce positive plays.
“He still has a lot to learn and a long way to go in terms of where hopefully we end up going, but I really feel confident about his approach, his ability to learn, his ability to process information and really his ability to make a mistake and learn from those, too. Because that’s a never-ending process for every player. He generally — he’s a great listener and he tries not to make the same mistake twice. Not saying that he doesn’t do that at times, but I think he’s really shown a strong aptitude at a young age to try to put those mistakes behind him and then move on and try to continue to improve as a quarterback.”
McDaniels added that Jones has seen good examples of how to approach being an NFL player from his teammates and is perceptive in how to make those qualities work for him.
“Like I said, he is very well prepared each day. He deserves the credit for that,” McDaniels said. “He continues to put the game and the team first. He studies hard at the game. He tries to make the corrections that we coach him on and he goes out there and he tries to do it the right way. Never makes excuses and just continues to try and improve and make progress. That’s the best way for any of us to approach our jobs and he’s done that so far.”