Who? Mac Jones.
The 49ers made waves final Friday, buying and selling three first-round picks to the Dolphins to maneuver as much as No. 3 general within the 2021 NFL Draft, presumably, to pick out a quarterback. However which quarterback?
Of the potential top-10 passers, Jones’ rise has been notably intriguing, and now there’s an ample quantity of smoke attaching the 49ers’ move-up to the Alabama QB.
MORE: Exploring the 49ers’ Mac Jones vs. Trey Lance vs. Justin Fields decision
NFL Community’s Daniel Jeremiah defined as a lot on Monday:
“Nearly all of folks across the league imagine that is for Mac Jones,” Jeremiah mentioned on The Athletic’s Football Show podcast. “Of the folks that you’d need to imagine and put your religion in, the overwhelming majority of them imagine that is going to be Mac Jones with that choose. So that is what’s so surprising.”
Jeremiah additionally mentioned that the 49ers having gone by way of the professional days of Jones and Lance meant they have been nearly executed of their evaluations of the two quarterbacks, resulting in hypothesis that a kind of two shall be chosen April 29.
He reaffirmed that on Monday’s “Wealthy Eisen Present”:
“Then you definitely speak to the folks in the know across the league, Wealthy, they usually’re like, ‘I am telling you, that is for the ‘Bama quarterback. This isn’t Trey Lance or Justin Fields, that is for Mac — that is for Mac Jones.'”
MORE: What the 49ers’ trade up means for the 2021 NFL Draft
Including to the intrigue, the 49ers’ prime brass — head coach Kyle Shanahan GM John Lynch — are heading to Jones’ second professional day on Tuesday, somewhat than North Dakota State’s or BYU’s (this previous Friday):
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan requested on going to Alabama Professional Day tomorrow, and never North Dakota State or BYU, says it was essential for the crew to not tip its hand earlier than the commerce was executed.
“Now that you just’re up at 3, you do not have to cover as a lot.”
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 29, 2021
NFL analyst Chris Simms (and finest good friend of Shanahan) additionally appears satisfied that the Niners moved up for Jones, including extra gasoline to the hearth.
49ers-Dolphins…Kyle Shanahan attempting to regulate his personal destiny. You commerce as much as 3 for a QB who’s NFL-ready proper now, not a mission. And to me that claims Mac Jones.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 26, 2021
There are as many as 5 — sure, 5 — top-10 passers this yr: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, BYU’s Zach Wilson, North Dakota’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Jones. Lawrence and Wilson are anticipated to go 1-2 to the Jaguars and Jets, respectively, leaving Jones, Lance and Fields on the board at No. 3.
Of these quarterbacks, some analysts contemplate Jones’ bodily traits among the many least fascinating, with Lance and Fields the extra gifted athletes altogether, resulting in the shock studies.
Nonetheless, it is smokescreen season heading into the draft, so till Jones is holding up a San Francisco 49ers uniform, count on the rumors and conjecture to proceed.
