Picture it. The year is 2021. The NFL Draft is being held in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the first fully accessible NFL event since the COVID pandemic. The fans are stocked, the place is packed, football is back baby.
What if I told you the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams’ arch nemesis, would find their franchise quarterback in that draft. In a brilliant move by GM John Lynch, he traded three first-round picks to acquire the third overall selection. Trevor Lawrence went to the Jaguars and Zach Wilson went to the Jets but that’s okay, the 49ers still have two great selections.
Ohio State’s Justin Fields. A speedy QB with a rocket arm who led the Buckeyes over Lawrence’s Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama’s Mac Jones, a Heisman finalist who helped Devonta Smith capture the award while leading the Crimson Tide to Nick Saban’s final national title. Who would they choose?
See, this is why Lynch gets paid the big bucks. The 49ers selected Trey Lance, an FCS QB who barely played collegiate football with a throwing motion that would not work in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. But there are games beyond the game. See with the last pick of the entire draft, the 49ers would select Brock Purdy and in a Heath Shuler/ Gus Frerotte double switch, Purdy would lead the team to two NFC title games and one Super Bowl appearance, just as Lynch had devised.
Okay, now that the jokes are over, the 49ers in an interesting move have acquired Jones on a two-year/ $7 million deal with $5 million guaranteed that could reach up to $11.5 million with incentives. Why did they make this deal? Not sure.
This is not the first time the 49ers have attemted to rehabilitate a first round QB as they signed Sam Darnold in 2023 but did they turn on Jones’ tape in Jacksonville? Even with giving him the benefit of playing with a poor roster, he still had Brian Thomas Jr and looked awful.
If I’m Brock Purdy, knowing Jones is my backup, I’m holding out for my second deal. While Jones does fit the offense, it’s highly unlikely he’ll produce a winning result with the team’s current roster.
And to think this all could’ve been avoided if the 49ers did not trade up and just selected Jones anyway.
