The New England Patriots will likely draft their quarterback of the future with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in April.
But it was just three years ago that the Patriots were in the exact same situation when they drafted Mac Jones 15th overall out of Alabama. However, he wasn’t the QB that Belichick actually wanted according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
As the Patriots general manager, the final call on which player to draft was Belichick’s to make. However, Howe noted that Belichick wanted to be more of a team player when it came to making personnel decisions after going 7-9 in his first season after Tom Brady left.
Jones started just 11 of New England’s 17 games this year and he was benched on several occasions. He won just two of those games, which were coincidentally the only two games that he didn’t throw an interception in.
While Mills hasn’t had the most successful career with the Houston Texans, one has to wonder how his and Jones’ careers would look had they ended up getting drafted by different teams.
Jones has been the more successful of the two, but he also played with considerably more talent around him in New England than Mills had in Houston.
Jones went 18-24 as the Patriots starter, averaging 212.3 passing yards per game with 46 touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a passer rating of 85.8.
Conversely, Mills went 5-19-1 in two seasons as Houston’s starter before being replaced by rookie sensation C.J. Stroud this year. He averaged 175.1 passing yards per game with 35 touchdowns, 25 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.
