New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has impressed head coach Bill Belichick with the “tremendous strides” he has made in his development during the offseason, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“He’s made tremendous strides,” Belichick said during a presser on Tuesday morning. “He did a great job last year, but he’s starting from a much, much higher point this year from where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant, and I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he was than a year ago.”
The Patriots are a day away from opening up training camp, and if Jones can take a significant step forward in 2022, it will help New England keep pace in a division that had seen the Buffalo Bills making deep playoff runs and take over AFC East Division Championship honors, and the Miami Dolphins make vast improvements during the offseason.
“We’re just a lot further ahead in the conversation [offensively],” Belichick said. “The plays that we talk about, or concepts we talk about, Mac has already done it before. It’s easy for him to say, ‘Are we going to do this on that? Are we going to do this on something else? What do you think about splitting them a little bit wider? Splitting them a little bit tighter.’ Suggestions like that.
“And we have a much better feel for what he can do, what his strengths are, and how to try to play into those. He’s self-aware, too. He knows what he does well. We want to try to feature those.”
Jones finished his rookie season with with 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions last year.
