Three days after a pair of trades involving first-round picks, it’s looking increasingly likely that San Francisco will select Mac Jones. He put up huge numbers at Alabama, and he’s Kyle Shanahan’s kind of quarterback.
It’s considered a lock that Jacksonville will select Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall, and almost as certain the Jets will choose Zach Wilson. Wilson had a great Pro Day last week, displaying unusual arm talent.
The 49ers wouldn’t have traded up to No. 3 unless there was a quarterback they really liked, and it looks like Jones will be that guy. In Shanahan’s offense, he’s looking for a smart quarterback who can quickly make decisions, and Jones seems to be that guy. Jones put up recording-setting numbers at Alabama last year, putting up better stats than even what Joe Burrow did the previous season.
Chris Simms is a friend of Shanahan’s. They played together at Texas and also worked together at Tampa Bay. Simms says he’s of the opinion that Shanahan will definitely select Jones. And that’s the consensus of other NFL people around the league.
Jones isn’t nearly as mobile as some of the other quarterbacking prospects (most notably Justin Fields and Trey Lance) but Shanahan has had success with quick-processing pocket passers in the past. He went to a Super Bowl with Matt Ryan, and Matt Schaub had a pair of seasons with top-7 numbers (that’s per-game production, and using standard scoring). Shanahan has long like Kirk Cousins; they drafted him in Washington despite earlier in the same draft trading up for Robert Griffin.
If Jones winds up in San Francisco, he would seemingly have a good chance of finish with the best rookie numbers of all of these quarterbacks being selected in the first round – he would have a better supporting cast than any of the other rookie quarterbacks.
Shanahan first became an NFL coordinator in 2008 in Houston. His primary starters are listed in the first table. For guys starting fewer than eight games, they’re listed in the second table. (The final column – the rank – shows where the quarterback ranked on a per-game basis using standard scoring.)
| KYLE SHANAHAN'S STARTING QUARTERBACKS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | Pt/G | Rk |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 309 | 2.38 | 7 | .00 | 25.9 | 3 |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 15 | 213 | 1.33 | 54 | .47 | 24.2 | 5 |
| 2009 | Matt Schaub, Hou. | 16 | 298 | 1.81 | 4 | .00 | 22.6 | 4 |
| 2013 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 13 | 246 | 1.23 | 38 | .00 | 21.3 | 11 |
| 2008 | Matt Schaub, Hou. | 11 | 277 | 1.36 | 6 | .18 | 21.2 | 7 |
| 2018 | Nick Mullens, S.F. | 8 | 285 | 1.63 | -2 | .00 | 20.8 | 20 |
| 2019 | Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 16 | 249 | 1.69 | 4 | .06 | 20.2 | 21 |
| 2015 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 287 | 1.31 | 4 | .00 | 20.1 | 23 |
| 2020 | Nick Mullens, S.F. | 8 | 266 | 1.25 | 1 | .00 | 18.7 | 15 |
| 2010 | Donovan McNabb, Was. | 13 | 260 | 1.08 | 12 | .00 | 18.5 | 20 |
| 2011 | Rex Grossman, Was. | 13 | 242 | 1.23 | 1 | .08 | 17.6 | 19 |
| 2014 | Brian Hoyer, Clev. | 13 | 246 | .85 | 2 | .00 | 15.8 | 29 |
| OTHER SHANAHAN STARTERS (less than half season) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | Pt/G |
| 2012 | Kirk Cousins, Was. | 1 | 329 | 2.00 | 22 | .00 | 26.7 |
| 2010 | Rex Grossman, Was. | 3 | 280 | 2.33 | 2 | .00 | 24.9 |
| 2017 | Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 5 | 308 | 1.20 | 1 | .20 | 21.6 |
| 2018 | C.J. Beathard, S.F. | 5 | 250 | 1.60 | 14 | .20 | 21.5 |
| 2020 | C.J. Beathard, S.F. | 2 | 228 | 2.00 | 14 | .00 | 20.8 |
| 2018 | Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 3 | 239 | 1.67 | 11 | .00 | 20.4 |
| 2017 | C.J. Beathard, S.F. | 5 | 237 | .60 | 24 | .60 | 20.3 |
| 2011 | John Beck, Was. | 3 | 247 | .67 | 10 | .33 | 18.7 |
| 2013 | Kirk Cousins, Was. | 3 | 249 | 1.33 | 4 | .00 | 18.2 |
| 2008 | Sage Rosenfels, Hou. | 5 | 241 | .80 | 7 | .00 | 16.0 |
| 2020 | Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 6 | 183 | 1.17 | 4 | .00 | 14.2 |
| 2017 | Brian Hoyer, S.F. | 6 | 208 | .67 | 1 | .17 | 14.2 |
| 2014 | Connor Shaw, Clev. | 1 | 177 | .00 | 9 | .00 | 9.8 |
| 2014 | Johnny Manziel, Clev. | 2 | 56 | .00 | 8 | .00 | 3.6 |
—Ian Allan