New England Patriots: Mac Jones as popular as Tom Brady in this one way
In some ways, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is having a better start to his career than his predecessor Tom Brady.
No, he didn’t win a Super Bowl or may not end his career playing till the age of 45 with 7 Super Bowls and a monster 10-year, $375 million tv broadcasting deal once he retires but unlike Brady, Mac Jones did start in his rookie season and had a successful season at that.
While the Patriots didn’t get past the Wild Card round, they appear to have themselves a quarterback in Jones and one who is already becoming a popular signal caller as far as jersey sales go.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones can only build on his popularity
Whether it’s because he is the successor to arguably the greatest quarterback to have played and still playing the game, or because he captured fans outside of the New England region by during “The Griddy” at the Pro Bowl, the man has some popularity going on.
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In a recent NFLPA report of the Top 50 Player Sales list, Mac Jones cracked the top 5 in jersey sales coming in behind Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes II and of course the great Tom Brady.
Notably, the Patriots quarterback beat out popular players like Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. Now, this may be more about the man he succeeded than his actual popularity, but Mac Jones is building on his own qualities as a football player that is making him a likable teammate and like Brady, a player who relishes the relationship with those he is throwing the ball to.
One player who Jones and the New England Patriots hope has a more productive season in 2022 than his first season with the team is Nelson Agholor. The veteran wide receiver marveled at the way his quarterback communicates inside and outside the huddle and lauded the second-year quarterback on his development.
"“He’s doing a great job developing,” Agholor said, via MassLive.com. “He shows up every day, working hard like everybody else in the building. He works hard. I can tell you that much. He leads by example with his effort each day. It’s consistent. He has consistent, hard-working effort, trains really hard and he leads the bunch. I think that is definitely something you must respect about him, how he trains.”"
Though he is not the most talented young quarterback when it comes to arm strength or even mobility in the pocket, it is the leadership and intelligence on the football field that makes him a player to watch in 2022.
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With more weapons around him like DeVante Parker and second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, Jones will have an opportunity to show off more of his arm down the field.
But, in 2022, it will be more about his decision-making and ability to make players around him better like Agholor and tight end Jonnu Smith. If he is able to accomplish that in just his second year in the league, then the conversation becomes very real on whether Mac Jones is having a better start to his career than Brady.
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Void of a Super Bowl victory, the team Brady will have that over Jones, but really examine Brady’s first two seasons as a starter and there is an argument there beyond the numbers. But that argument is on hold until we see how Mac Jones’ second season unfolds in his popular New England Patriots uniform.
Then, he will have to play 20-plus more seasons to really reach the popularity of TB12, but he’s off to a good start.