49ers NFL Draft 2021: Giving quarterback Mac Jones his due
By Peter Panacy
Should the San Francisco 49ers select Alabama quarterback Mac Jones at No. 3 overall?
No. That would be a massive reach. Especially when the Niners have the pick needed to select either Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields or North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance in that spot, assuming the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets grab QBs Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, of course.
And it would be an even worse reach considering San Francisco gave up three additional picks, two Round 1 selections the next two years and a 2022 third rounder, to move up from No. 12 to No. 3.
Despite this, there are still odds in favor of Jones being the 49ers’ top pick in this year’s draft.
It’s been easy to dogpile on the idea of the Niners reaching on Jones. Case in point, he’s a notably far lower prospect in the signal-caller big board than the other four and could have possibly been available with the 12th overall pick anyway.
Yet all the criticism doesn’t mean Jones is an awful prospective quarterback. He’s been in the first-round discussion for a while now. It’s not like he’s a day-three flier.
While the fanbase might be upset with the idea, there’s a real chance Jones winds up being San Francisco’s next NFL Draft pick. So it would be worth exploring some of the positives and negatives about him, also diving into how he could potentially fit with the 49ers in 2021 and beyond if selected.