Simulating the Washington Football Team’s entire 2021 offseason

NFL Draft Day 1

Round 1, Pick 19 (19): QB Mac Jones, Alabama

The Washington Football Team needs to land a quarterback at some point this offseason. Ron Rivera has stated that adding talent at the position is “the most important thing” for the team to address this offseason.

That has led to excitement from many fans. Could Washington trade for a guy like Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan? Or what about Deshaun Watson if he becomes available? And looking at the free-agent market, Dak Prescott is available, so couldn’t he be a candidate for the team?

While all of these options are in play, the team can’t rely on acquiring a quarterback via trade or Dallas letting Prescott walk. The older veterans at the position would give this team a short Super Bowl window unless Taylor Heinicke or Kyle Allen can develop into a quarterback of the future.

That said, in a strong quarterback class, Washington may look to select a player with their first-round pick. If they stay put at 19, the top option expected to be available at this spot is Mac Jones. The Alabama passer is coming off a prolific year in which he racked 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, and threw just four interceptions while completing 77.4 percent of his passes against an All-SEC schedule before the College Football Playoff.

Jones has a solid enough arm, but his real strength is his ability to read the field. At Alabama, Jones always was able to find the open man whether it was a playmaker downfield or a checkdown to pick up some yardage. That allowed him to limit his mistakes, but he didn’t avoid looking to throw deep. When he did, he was able to throw with incredible accuracy and ball placement and often hit his playmakers in stride.

Sure, the likes of DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle helped Jones to post these huge numbers. And he’s not the most mobile quarterback. But in terms of decision-making, accuracy, and ability to read the field, he is further ahead of the more toolsy QB prospects drawing more buzz as potential top-10 picks. He could end up being a plug-and-play starter for Washington, and he would be able to get the ball to the playmakers that the team has added during this simulation.

If you’re not a Jones fan — like our own Jonathan Eig, who sees Jones in a different light to yours truly — feel free to mock a trade up for one of the quarterbacks expected to go ahead of him (Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, or Trey Lance). But if the team stays put at 19 and still needs a quarterback, Jones seems likely to be the best player available barring an unforeseen fall by a top prospect.