Where Mac Jones actually ranks among the best NFL QBs available

What if I told you Mac Jones and Brock Purdy play on the same team and Jones actually looked better than Purdy during the 2025 season? Would you believe me? Well, I’m not too far off. It might be a bit of an exaggeration to say Purdy got outplayed, but Jones played in 11 games last year and looked every bit like the first-round pick New England thought they were getting. Jones finished as a top 30 quarterback in passing yards despite starting the year as a backup.

Purdy’s injury history is lengthy so it shouldn’t be a surprise that his backup played in more games than he did. That’s also why Jones makes the argument of being one of the best quarterbacks available. Now yes, he’s still Purdy’s backup, but for the right price, Jones could be dealt this season. 

As good as he was in 2026, how does he compare to other quarterbacks available both in free agency and on the trade block? You’d be shocked to find out the once left-for-dead, first round quarterback might just have another shot at being a starter in the NFL. 

Where Mac Jones ranks among NFL’s best available quarterbacks

Based on this table above, you can see why Jones is high up on this list. The only reason I have Jacoby Brissett above Jones is the simple fact that Brissett played in a terrible system and somehow looked like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks last season. So much so that he’s leaning toward holding out to make sure he’s financially compensated for what he did in 2025. That said, there’s not too many quarterbacks from this list I’m taking over Jones. 

Even if the youth of J.J. McCarthy or Anthony Richardson is enticing, Jones is still just 27 years old. He’s young enough that he could play eight more years in the league and still carve out a solid second half of his NFL career. 

The one caveat to Jones is that he is playing in a system set up for quarterbacks to succeed. San Francisco is known to produce system quarterbacks, which isn’t a bad thing, but it means that when said quarterback gets out of that system, they don’t look as good as they did while they were playing in that system. It is hard to argue against the fact that Kyle Shanahan’s “system” has produced a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Sam Darnold. 

Why Mac Jones is the safest option for a quarterback-needy team

Jones played some of the best football of his career last season and part of it has to be he had no pressure to do anything spectacular. He was the backup quarterback just looking for a shot at redemption. He went out and could play carefree because there were minimal expectations. That attitude can be translated at his next stop, though the pressure will ramp up immediately. I think for Jones to succeed he needs to be in the right system. 

What I mean by that is Brissett has carved out a decent NFL career despite hopping around NFL teams. He hasn’t just succeeded in one system; he’s managed to be successful with multiple teams. We haven’t seen that yet from Jones, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen either. Jones is set up to be a starter for another team in the future. Just like Minnesota has been desperately trying to find their franchise guy, Jones will become a hot commodity for a team in need of a quarterback. 

Is Mac Jones the next Sam Darnold?

It’s a fair question to ask considering both came through the Shanahan pipeline. I think Jones is set up for success for his next stop, but to say he’s going to win a Super Bowl when he finds a team that wants to take a gamble on him, that could be a bit of a stretch. Jones, like Darnold, had a lot of pressure to be “the guy”. Both needed new homes to find themselves again. 

I think if Jones gets into a situation like Darnold did with Minnesota where he’s the missing piece, I think he will be fine. But if he lands with a team like the New Orleans Saints or God forbid the Cleveland Browns, he won’t look nearly as good as he did in San Francisco. A team like the Steelers is the most realistic landing spot for him in my opinion. If Jones doesn’t get dealt before the trade deadline, I could see Pittsburgh being interested in Jones as Rodgers’ replacement. 

For now, Jones still has one more season to prove he’s starting caliber again. He had to go through a changing of the guard in New England and dealing with Jacksonville’s dysfunction at the time to find himself in San Francisco. That path could very much set him up for a more prosperous NFL future with a team that truly needs him.

More NFL offseason news and analysis

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow