2021 NFL Mock Draft: Washington Football Team goes offense in Round 1

The projections on Mac Jones vary depending on what you’re reading, but there’s always one truth when it comes to quarterbacks: They tend to rise during the draft process. Because of that, I have a hard time believing that Jones will fall out of the first round at this point.

Jones had a prolific season for Alabama. After showing well in relief of Tua Tagovailoa in 2019, Jones continued to show off during his All-SEC schedule and trip to the College Football Playoff. Jones completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just five interceptions on the year.

On tape, Jones shows off a solid arm and may not be a big-time athlete, but his arm talent is impressive. Jones is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in this draft class and his ball placement is superb. He throws with good anticipation into tight windows and tends to hit his receivers in stride.

In addition to his accuracy, he reads the field extremely well. In fact, he may do so better than any quarterback in this class not named Trevor Lawrence. Jones diagnoses coverages quickly and knows when to settle for checkdowns to avoid turnovers. He still takes chances downfield, but when his first couple of reads aren’t there, he has no problem giving it to his backs out of the backfield or receivers on short routes.

The Colts are in need of a quarterback after Philip Rivers announced his retirement. The team certainly could opt to bring in a veteran talent like Matthew Stafford, but if they can’t pull off a move like that, they’ll need to add a player in the draft.

Jones could take advantage of the solid protection that the Colts have. It would allow him to play to his strengths, especially if the team can retain T.Y. Hilton or bring in another No. 1-type receiver to replace him.

If the Colts aren’t sold on Jones, this would be an opportune spot for them to take a guy like Samuel Cosmi or Liam Eichenberg to replace the now-retired left tackle Anthony Castonzo. They also could trade up for a quarterback if they like one of the other options better or take a defensive end to improve their pass rush.