Selected with the No. 15 overall pick in 2021, Jones initially looked like he could limit New England’s woes without a franchise playmaker to just one season after Tom Brady. He won 10 games in his first year and led the Patriots to the playoffs as a Pro Bowler and runner-up for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Instead of building on his early success, he struggled to an 8-17 record in 25 starts over the last two years. Jones’ New England past was marked by ineptitude in the pocket, poor decisions under pressure and a lack of ball security, as evidenced by his 36 career interceptions and 15 fumbles.
As Pederson mentioned, there were echoes of Jones vs. Atlanta.
On his very first pass attempt of the game, he threw up a pass as time ran out around him. It initially seemed to have an equal chance of being caught by Parker Washington on the sideline, a similarly spectacular interception for Atlanta, or a harmless misplaced pass that turned out to be the final result. He also ran into a sack by Bradlee Anae to end his second drive.
But just as he has done for most of his playing time with the Jags, Jones calmed down after the two unsuccessful possessions.
His next three drives, balanced marches of 70, 70 and 58 yards, produced 17 points. Jones made quick, correct decisions with the ball during much of those series. At one point, he scored seven times in a row, a streak that included his 13-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown that only Elijah Cooks could recover to cap a two-minute drill.
Jones finished 13 of 18 for 113 yards and the score before giving way to EJ Perry.
It came against the Falcons’ backups, but Jones capped off an impressive preseason in impressive fashion, finishing August with 421 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on 38 of 52 passing.
His role as a replacement for Trevor Lawrence and the currently injured CJ Beathard is quite different from the role he played in his first professional job, but he has already adapted to the change beautifully.
If Jones can continue to reduce New England’s typical outliers in the future, the Jags seem to have found a real safety passer during the offseason.
