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There’s been unrelenting speculation about who the 49ers will draft with the third overall pick in May, and much of that speculation has centered around Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. The connection, from a purely speculative standpoint, is founded in Jones being a traditional pocket passing quarterback who is perceived to have little development left. It’s basically a swing at trying to find the next Tom Brady, which has rarely been a successful bet.
But it’s Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and in Jones, you’d have a guy who has literally said he just does what the coaches ask. So, if you’re Kyle, it’s a guy who just follows orders and does so pretty well. By all accounts, however, he’s a high floor, low ceiling player, which means you’re spending a lot of draft capital on a guy who doesn’t have any elite physical traits.
Both NFL Network’s Mike Silver and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco have pointed heavily towards Jones being the 49ers’ pick at No. 3 and on Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confidently proclaimed that Jones would be the pick.
Snippet of audio from the DiPietro, Canty & Rothenberg show this morning
Adam confidently proclaims Mac will be the pick, then details the 49ers plans pic.twitter.com/zRNUaCLak4
— Anthony Amico (@amicsta) April 6, 2021
“Oh, it’ll be Mac Jones,” Schefter said.
He said he doesn’t expect the 49ers to move Jimmy Garoppolo, at least at the moment, and went on to clarify why he’s confident it will be Jones, leaving some room open for San Francisco to change their mind.
“I believe, that in the end, they will pick Mac Jones at 3. That will be the pick,” Schefter said. “And they will keep Jimmy Garoppolo this year… They want to draft a quarterback and have that guy sit on the bench, learn, get acclimated, even though some people say Mac Jones is ready to play right away. And then, after the season, you move on from Jimmy.”
