Mac Jones

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones has already made a positive impression.

"He's working hard," head coach Bill Belichick said, per Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. "He puts in a lot of time. Certainly giving his very best effort to do everything we've asked him to do and do it the way we've asked him to do it, which is a great place to start. He's earned a lot of respect for that. But he's got a long way to go. We'll see how it goes."

While Jones will be under the spotlight as a first-round pick for a franchise that is looking for a long-term answer at quarterback with Tom Brady no longer around, he is accustomed to playing under pressure.

After all, every game at Alabama feels like something of a must-win for a program that is always in championship-or-bust mode, and he helped lead the Crimson Tide to that national title last season as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

He completed 77.4 percent of his passes in 2020 for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Putting up numbers that are even close to that at the NFL level would help him earn plenty more respect.

Mac Jones did enough throughout his time at Alabama to impress the New England Patriots, who hadn't drafted a quarterback in the first round in the first 21 years that Bill Belichick has run the show. 

The team's offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, opened up about what drew the team to Jones, who they drafted with the No. 15 overall pick in April.

"He certainly stood out in certain obvious ways relative to throwing the football and command and protecting the ball and not hurting his football team," McDaniels told reporters on Thursday. "A lot to look at and digest when you studied him." 

McDaniels praised Jones' experience in "big games" and "pressure situations" while competing in a difficult Southeastern Conference. 

The star led the Crimson Tide to a perfect season in 2020, going 12-0 with a national championship victory. He threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns with four interceptions and a 77.4 completion percentage. 

New England using such a high pick on Jones demonstrated its faith in him. The Patriots have him practicing with the second team thus far in OTAs, per Kyed. Belichick has maintained that Cam Newton will be starting for the second year in a row.

Newton signed a one-year deal this offseason. 

The Patriots are also carrying Jarrett Stidham, their fourth-round pick in 2019, though he has yet to make a start through his two seasons with the team. The Patriots had an excuse in his rookie year, when they had Tom Brady under center, but last season Newton—who had struggles of his own and dealt with COVID-19 during the season—led the Pats to their worst finish in decades. And even when he was sidelined, they turned to longtime backup Brian Hoyer to make the start. 

Suffice to say that if anyone is challenging Newton for the top spot this season, it's Jones, who has made quite the impression on the coaching staff in New England. 

Rookie quarterback Mac Jones is winning over his new teammates in the first week of OTAs. 

The Alabama product, who went to the New England Patriots with the No. 15 overall pick, has been playing behind incumbent signal-caller Cam Newton, who signed a new one-year deal after quarterbacking the Patriots to their worst season in decades following Tom Brady's departure. But the newcomer's teammates are liking what they've seen thus far.

"[Jones] has a swag to him that I didn't know that he had at first," receiver Kendrick Bourne told reporters Thursday. "He's out there confident, and that is what you need in a quarterback. Good energy, awesome guy, comes to work and you just can feel his energy and leadership already."

New tight end Hunter Henry, who signed a three-year deal with the Patriots this offseason after five years with the Los Angeles Chargers, also spoke highly of Jones (h/t Mike Reiss of ESPN). 

Despite the praise, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has maintained that Newton is the top quarterback on the roster, which also includes backup Jarrett Stidham, who was drafted in 2019, and veteran backup Brian Hoyer. 

The Mac Jones era in New England reportedly may not start as soon as some assumed after the Patriots selected him with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Appearing on Saturday's edition of SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is "bullish" on veteran quarterback Cam Newton despite his struggles last season.

Fowler added that Newton is the favorite to earn and keep the starting job this season until Jones' on-field work becomes "undeniable."

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New England's first season without Tom Brady in 20 years wasn't a good one, and poor quarterback play was a big reason why.

There was some belief that Belichick would be able to get the most out of Newton, but the former NFL MVP instead struggled through one of the worst seasons of his career.

Playing for a team other than the Carolina Panthers for the first time in his 10-year NFL career, Newton went just 7-8 as a starter and completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,657 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The one saving grace was Newton's running ability, as he rushed for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving the Patriots an element at quarterback that they never had during Brady's two decades under center.

While Newton was scuffling and the Patriots were going 7-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, Jones was enjoying a historic season at Alabama.

With Jones at the helm, the Crimson Tide went undefeated and won a national championship in 2020. Jones also finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting by virtue of completing 77.4 percent of his attempts for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and just four picks.

Jones has already received plenty of comparisons to Brady due to a perceived lack of natural athleticism coupled with an ability to process information quickly and pick apart opponents.

If Jones is indeed as similar to Brady as many seem to believe, it wouldn't be surprising to see Belichick pivot to him quickly. 

The fact that the Patriots re-signed the 32-year-old Newton despite his poor showing last season does speak to Belichick believing in him to some degree, though, and it is likely that Jones will have to wrestle the starting job away from him given Newton's experience level.

In each of the last 13 NFL seasons, at least one rookie quarterback has started in Week 1.

In fact, at least one first-year signal-caller has started in each of the NFL's past 228 regular-season weeks—a streak that dates back to Week 11 of the 2007 season (John Beck for the Miami Dolphins). 

It certainly looks as though both of those trends will continue with five first-round picks part of this year's rookie quarterback class, but nothing's guaranteed to any of those guys or the five quarterbacks selected beyond Round 1. 

Let's make some calculated guesses at when we might see each of those 10 in 2021. 

                   

Trevor Lawrence: Week 1

The Jacksonville Jaguars' No. 1 overall pick appears to be a shoo-in to start the Jags' season opener against the Houston Texans in the Lone Star State, although the former Clemson superstar is coming off surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and will be limited this offseason, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

He's apparently still on track to be 100 percent for training camp, but that's a legitimate factor when Gardner Minshew II is also on the roster and the Jags haven't formally declared Lawrence the Week 1 starter yet.

Still, the team has little reason to wait, and Lawrence looks ready. 

            

Zach Wilson: Week 1

DraftKings doesn't offer odds for whom the Jaguars or New York Jets will start in Week 1, but it does that for the three other teams that drafted quarterbacks in Round 1. That should be a pretty strong indication that Lawrence and Wilson are very much on track to earn starting roles this summer. 

The Jets haven't made anything official with their second overall pick. But Sam Darnold is off the roster, and it's hard to imagine them starting anyone but Wilson when they face Darnold's Carolina Panthers in Week 1. 

           

Trey Lance: Week 18

Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the San Francisco 49ers roster, and Lance is raw coming off one season as a college starter at the FCS level. They also owe Garoppolo $26.4 million this year. On one hand, that likely means he can be had in a trade. On the other hand, the brass has made it pretty clear they're looking to use him to bridge the gap to their No. 3 overall pick. 

"Yeah, I mean Jimmy definitely is our starter right now, and right now there isn't a competition, because I don't believe Trey would be in a position to compete," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this month, according to Cam Inman of the Mercury News.

So Lance could redshirt, but Garoppolo has also lacked durability. So it might just be a matter of time before an injury paves the way for the North Dakota State product to debut. It would be silly and callous to predict when such a development might happen, so we're rolling with the idea that Lance will get a shot in a meaningless regular-season finale in the same way Patrick Mahomes launched his career in 2017. 

              

Justin Fields: Week 2

The Chicago Bears somewhat hilariously declared Andy Dalton their "QB1" in March, and they stuck to that even after trading up to draft Fields 11th overall in April. 

"Andy is our starter, and we're going to have a really good plan in place to develop Justin," general manager Ryan Pace told the media after the first round of the draft. 

This is also tricky because Nick Foles remains on the Chicago roster, which means it might not simply require a single injury for Fields to get the green light. And there's a precedent here. When Pace traded up to take Mitchell Trubisky second overall in 2017, the Bears didn't start him immediately either. The current regime did, however, have little patience with their quarterbacks last season. 

They might not throw Fields to the wolves with the Aaron Donald-led Los Angeles Rams on the schedule Week 1 (especially on the road in prime time), but it wouldn't be surprising if a poor performance from Dalton in that spot led to a Fields start at home against the less dangerous and intimidating Cincinnati Bengals the following Sunday.

        

Mac Jones: Week 1

Based on the odds, the peeps in Vegas are confident Cam Newton will hold off Jones to start the New England Patriots' season opener at home against the Miami Dolphins. And that's understandable because head coach Bill Belichick told the media on draft night that "Cam's our quarterback."

"Whatever time Jarrett or Mac are ready to challenge and compete," he added, "then we'll see how that goes."

That could theoretically be this summer, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports gives that an 80 percent chance of happening. The problem is we're not too familiar with Belichick in a situation like this. But Jones is a pro-ready quarterback, and the Pats must really believe he can run their system wonderfully if they were willing to use such a rare top-half-of-Round 1 draft pick on him. 

Whoever starts Week 1 will likely get a lot of time because Belichick isn't knee-jerky. This feels like it's close to a tossup, but Newton has performed so poorly as a passer the last few years that I'm leaning toward Jones stealing the job in August. 

            

Kyle Trask: Week 18

Obviously, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made this second-round pick with the long-term future in mind, and Tom Brady will be the guy throughout 2021. And even if Brady were to get hurt, you'd have to imagine they'd go to Blaine Gabbert or Ryan Griffin as caretakers. 

That said, I could see them blowing away the competition in the NFC and giving the Florida product a shot if their Week 18 matchup with the Panthers doesn't matter. 

     

Kellen Mond: Won't happen

There's a lot to love about the strong and athletic Mond coming out of Round 3, but the Minnesota Vikings owe Kirk Cousins $76 million between now and the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, according to Spotrac. They're in too deep.

Besides, Cousins might lack consistency, but he's coming off the two highest-rated seasons of his career. And the Vikes aren't good enough or bad enough to find themselves playing meaningless games in December or January, which means Mond will likely have to wait at least a year. 

     

Davis Mills: Won't happen

Deshaun Watson's legal situation after 22 different women filed lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault or misconduct is naturally a huge factor here because the Houston Texans might not have even considered using a third-round pick on Mills under regular circumstances. Still, the team brought in veteran Tyrod Taylor as well this offseason, and he's a lock to start if Watson doesn't. 

Maybe Mills could get a shot or two late in the year if the Texans stink again, but with so much up in the air, I wouldn't count on anything beyond potential mop-up duty.

     

Ian Book: Won't happen

If the post-Drew Brees New Orleans Saints only had Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill, I'd think the fourth-round pick would have a serious shot at some action in 2021. But with both of those guys on the roster and New Orleans likely to be at least a fringe contender this season, it's probably not in the cards for Book.

          

Sam Ehlinger: Won't happen

The Indianapolis Colts are going all-in on Carson Wentz, which likely means he gets all 17 starts if healthy. And if the veteran gets hurt, you'd think sophomore fourth-round pick Jacob Eason would be higher in the pecking order than Ehlinger as a rookie sixth-rounder.

            

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Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter, @Brad_Gagnon.

Four of the five quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft got an early start on the time-honored tradition of predicting their overall rating in the upcoming Madden NFL video game. 

Mac Jones, Justin Fields, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson all took a shot at guessing what their overall rating in this year's title will be:

We had some of the new QBs predict their rookie Madden ratings.

Whose guess do you think is most accurate? 🤔 @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/oHPRaLx4zv

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) May 14, 2021

Of the four predictions, Fields' estimate of 78-81 seems like the most realistic. Madden is notoriously stingy with ratings for rookies every year. Wilson (predicted 90), Lance (88) and Jones (85) seem like wishful thinking, or they are possibly trying to influence the decision-makers. 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, last year's No. 1 overall pick, was the highest-rated rookie quarterback in Madden NFL 21 at 76 overall. Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young was the top-rated rookie regardless of position with an 80 overall mark.

Notably absent from the video is Trevor Lawrence. The top pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars could end up as the highest-rated rookie quarterback in Madden history. Andrew Luck was an 85 overall in Madden NFL 13 in his first season with the Indianapolis Colts. 

Regardless of how the initial ratings go, there's no reason for any of these young budding stars to get discouraged.

Justin Herbert was the lowest-rated first-round quarterback to start last season (70) but now looks like the best player from that group after setting an NFL rookie record with 31 touchdown passes. 

While it certainly doesn't carry as much excitement as free agency or the draft, the NFL's schedule release has become an offseason event of its own.

While the full 2021 schedule won't be announced until 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the league began leaking its Week 1 schedule on Wednesday morning. The season will kick off with the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys.

The announcements have been made: It’s #Bucs at home against the #Cowboys on Thursday, Sept. 9 to open the season. Dak back on the field as Tom Brady and his team go for 2. I believe people will watch. 📺

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 12, 2021

CBS released its slate of Week 1 games, while Fox also revealed its Week 1 afternoon lineup. The afternoon schedule for Week 1 is as follows:

    

Sunday, September 12

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (CBS, 1 p.m. ET)

New York Jets at Carolina Panthers (CBS, 1 p.m. ET)

Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans (CBS, 1 p.m. ET)

Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans (CBS, 1 p.m. ET)

Los Angeles Chargers at Washington Football Team (CBS, 1 p.m. ET)

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (Fox, 1 p.m. ET)

Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals (Fox, 1 p.m. ET)

San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions (Fox, 1 p.m. ET)

Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts (Fox, 1 p.m. ET)

Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs (CBS, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (CBS, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints (Fox, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Denver Broncos at New York Giants (Fox, 4:25 p.m. ET)

  

The Los Angeles Rams will host the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, while the Las Vegas Raiders will host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, according to John Breech of CBS Sports.

While the NFL has only officially released the Week 1 schedule, some other potential leaks are floating around the web.

While the Buffalo Bills would have been an intriguing option to face the defending champs in the opener, it seems that the league is saving the matchup for late in the season. According to Ryan Talbot of NYUp.com, the Bills and Buccaneers will face off on December 12 in the late afternoon slot.

According to Buffalo Rumblings, the Bills will also host the New England Patriots on December 6 on Monday Night Football.

The Patriots will reportedly host Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 4, according to Bleacher Report's Master Tesfatsion:

THE RETURN.@TomBrady will visit Foxborough to face Belichick and the Patriots in Week 4, per B/R’s @MasterTes 🍿 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/RBIvvgfEjH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 12, 2021

This is one of the more widely anticipated games on the 2021 schedule, as it will mark Brady's return to Foxborough. It could also see Brady face off against his long-term heir in New England—if rookie quarterback Mac Jones is able to take the starting job from Cam Newton by then.

According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants will face off in Week 12.

"Giants fans have to wait until Week 12 to boo the Eagles, whose questionable effort in a Week 17 loss to Washington last season kept the Giants out of the playoffs and drew [Giants coach Joe] Judge's wrath. Since then, coach Doug Pederson was fired, but Nov. 28—the end of Thanksgiving weekend—still will be circled on the calendars."

According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (h/t NFL Update), the Giants will face the Washington Football Team in the Week 2 edition of Thursday Night Football.

Readers may notice that there is only one game scheduled for Monday night in Week 1, which is a departure from recent seasons that have featured a doubleheader. According to NFL Update, ABC/ESPN will instead get a Saturday doubleheader in Week 18.

There will be 18 weeks of regular-season football this year, as the NFL's new 17-game season goes into effect in 2021.

After years of shaky draft results, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reportedly became more open to input from scouts ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Belichick held formal meetings with the scouting department and "reworked other past practices" in an effort to improve draft results. Breer noted that scouts have left the Patriots in recent offseasons over frustrations with Belichick seemingly shutting them out of the draft process.

"Belichick's own experiences with players and his connections in college coaching too often would trump the information his scouts were giving him," Breer wrote, citing the feelings of those in the organization.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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