From the moment the Patriots took Mac Jones with the No. 15 overall pick, the countdown to his eventual takeover of the starting quarterback job began.
If history tells us anything, it may only be a matter of when, not if, Jones starts a game for New England in 2021. First-round rookie quarterbacks typically don’t wait too long to see the field these days, no matter how much coaches praise incumbent starters or preach competition in the quarterback room.
Bill Belichick would hardly be the first coach to proclaim a veteran quarterback — Cam Newton, in this case — his starting quarterback only to change course and play the “future” franchise signal-caller at some point as a rookie.