People need something to talk about. I get it.
The Celtics look hopeless. We're waiting for the Bruins' playoff run to start against a really tough opponent. The Red Sox season really doesn't start until after July 4th.
There's a little bit of a void in the sports chatter landscape, so the default will always be the Patriots and the quarterback position after Tom Brady. The default should be the Patriots. They're always good for everyone's business, people care deeply about them, and the lack of real information (even rookie camp is closed to all reporters except team-owned media) leaves a vacuum that anyone and everyone tries to fill.
But all this Mac Jones discussion has surprised me.
If the Patriots loved him so much, why didn't they use more draft capital than they ultimately needed to in order to draft him?
Team X really wanted Jones and was trying to get in front of the Patriots.
There were triple simultaneous smokescreens by the 49ers, Patriots and the Saints.
Jimmy Garoppolo ... whatever.
It's fun to talk about, especially after the fact. But if there's one thing I've learned covering the NFL for over 20 years, it's that the post-draft portion of the NFL offseason probably is the worst lying period in the NFL — worst than the month before the draft.
For every team, the draft fell exactly how they wanted it to, and every team got the guy they really wanted in every single round. Every move, lie and bluff they did worked to perfection. They couldn't be happier with their draft. They knew they wanted each and every draft pick three months ago.
The bottom line is this: Mac Jones is a Patriot. How it happened really doesn't matter. Is there a scoreboard to watch with Justin Fields and Garoppolo? Absolutely. But how Jones ended up on the Patriots' roster, at the end of the day, doesn't matter.
Could the Patriots have made other moves that we'll judge in hindsight when we all have more information? Sure. What we know:• Garoppolo was, indeed, Plan A for the Patriots all offseason, they just couldn't make it work with the 49ers' trade compensation and Garoppolo's contract. The Patriots had a value on Garoppolo after his injuries and the fact that the 49ers have kicked the tires on just about every QB available the past two offseasons, and stuck to it. They'll be judged on that. Could Garoppolo still become available at some point, and would the Patriots possibly revisit it? Yes.
• Plan A was Garoppolo, top defender (Zaven Collins most likely) then a QB. It could have very well have been Jones later in the round if he was still on the board. If that didn't work, Kellen Mond or Davis Mills.
• Once the draft arrived and Jones was available, the Patriots moved on to Plan B. Jones was the highest player left on their board and one of only three QBs they judged to be worthy of the 15th overall pick (Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson were the others). Fields was not a fit for them, at least in that area. Again, they'll be judged on that down the line, just like Lamar Jackson.
• The Saints were interested in Jones. My guess is they wanted a cornerback first — which is what Sean Payton said after the draft — and then Jones, but I don't know that. Why would Payton lie about that? Are Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston so entrenched/sensitive that Payton couldn't reveal they wanted Jones in a trade-up? It's certainly possible — QBs are a little sensitive — but that seems like a long way for Payton, a guy who always wants to share and reveal how smart he is, to go.
• Bill Belichick might not have seemed enthused about the Jones pick after the round, but privately the Patriots are ecstatic that it worked out this way for them.
So, yes, that's all fun to talk about it. But I'm not sure what the end game is.
Are we supposed to say the Patriots were brilliant? Are we trying to say other teams, including the 49ers, got what they wanted and the Patriots were just wallflowers and took whatever was left?
What's the point? There's no definitive answer.
The Patriots got their quarterback of the future in Jones. That's all we know for certain.
We don't know when he's going to play. Cam Newton is still here. Jarrett Stidham is still here. They have a little leg up in terms of knowing the Patriots' playbook — what they've been taught — but it shouldn't be all that much of an advantage. With a more full offseason and preseason, will Newton and Stidham both stay healthy through it all? Or will Newton need a rest day here and there, which could be the kind of opening Jones will need for more reps to win the job?
Again, these are questions with no answers right now which is why it's enjoyable to talk about. All we know is Mac Jones is on the Patriots, the team spent a crap ton of money in free agency, and everything will be decided on the football field come July and August under the strains of competition.
The rest is, really, just noise.