Many New England Patriots fans were surprised to see the explosive rookie turn into a “Checkdown Charlie.” Mac Jones gave an explanation to those fans in an interview on “Merloni and Fauria” via Patriots Wire.
Mac Jones averaged 4.6 yards per play and only had two passes travel more than 20 yards. One pass was a 20-yard completion and the other was a 22-yard incompletion. While the offense was quite conservative, Jones was able to do what the opposing rookie was not. The Patriots QB had no interceptions in the 25-6 win over the New York Jets.
Mac Jones’ showings so far: Jonesing for more?
Meanwhile, his opponent, Zach Wilson, threw four interceptions, starting with both throws. The Patriots are electing to be conservative in order to stay competitive now, but could it hurt the end product?
Wilson may be throwing constant interceptions now, but he could eventually learn how to carve up defenses later.
If Jones steers clear of throwing the ball deep, he could put a ceiling on himself later in his career, considering he didn’t learn how to throw deep when he was young.
If he tries to learn throwing deep later in his career, he won’t have the same leash as a rookie. In that case, if he has a similarly rough performance as a five-year veteran, he could quickly find himself getting benched and marked as played out.
Of course, all that matters in the NFL is right now in a win-now league. Wilson just saw his ranking plummet as a result of his last performance. Mac Jones is still holding steady after two games. However, if Jones continues to check down, defenses may start to crowd the line of scrimmage and force him to throw deep.
At that point, the NFL is going to get a true taste of what kind of quarterback Mac Jones is.
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