New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is heading into his second season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. It's a huge year for the Alabama product and his team as a whole.
According to a few of his teammates, it seems as if the sophomore signal-caller is leading by example. And his leadership qualities have those same teammates giving rave reviews to the media.
Veteran offensive lineman David Andrews has seen a lot in his career. Jones' emergence as a locker room leader isn't surprising to the 29-year-old.
“The kid’s a hard worker,” Andrews said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand Show on Friday. “He works his butt off, day in and day out. Sometimes I just try to get him to take a deep breath. But that’s what you want out of your quarterback.
“He works really hard. He’s a tough kid. It’s been fun for me the last year, year and a half, to get to know him. I’ve got a lot of respect for how he does things and how he carries himself.”
The Patriots have dealt with a lot of change on the offensive side of the ball. Especially on the offensive coaching staff.
Longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was hired as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He took multiple offensive assistants with him to Nevada. Currently, former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia and former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge are playing prominent roles on the offensive staff.
“We’re all working to be the best we can be,” Andrews said. “Whether it’s Mac, me, we’re all professional athletes, whoever it is on this football team. We have a job to do. We’re going to go out there and try to do that to the best of our abilities and be the best we can be."
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne spoke with ESPN's Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss about Jones' leadership. He also talked about the 23-year-old's comfort level.
“It’s just at another level now,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said of Jones’s leadership. “He’s more comfortable, more confident. He knows what’s going on, and the muscle memory is there [from having gone through it] — OTAs, then camp, and the season. He’s just more locked in, more secure in his position.”
At the end of the day, the Patriots all working hard, and they're all improving. Jones' emergence as a leader is most impressive, but they all have the same goal.
"We’re all here for the same common goal. It starts whenever we report [for training camp], that’ll be day one. We’ll keep working on it and keep improving it. We’ll try to keep getting better throughout the season and not have that kind of lull that we had last season," Andrews said.
