Todd McShay: Alabama’s Mac Jones is pulling a Joe Burrow (Video)

Alabama’s Mac Jones is skyrocketing up draft boards just like Joe Burrow did a year ago.

Few expected Alabama quarterback Mac Jones to put himself alongside the likes of Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in the eyes of NFL scouts, but his scintillating start to the season for a Crimson Tide team primed to make another run at the national championship. Jones’ rise has draft experts like Todd McShay seeing the exact same positive traits they saw out of Joe Burrow, who went from late-round pick to No. 1 overall last season.

ESPN’s Todd McShay confirmed that Jones is creeping up his big board, comparing his rise to that of Burrow, who was picked with the first selection in the draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mac Jones’ deep accuracy could put him in the first round debate

While BYU’s Zach Wilson and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance have been the presumptive favorites to take over the QB3 role behind Lawrence and Fields, but Jones’ productivity has him right in the conversation. While he has four fewer touchdown passes than Burrow did at this juncture, Jones’ 78.5 percent completion and 12.4 YPA are better than Burrow’s marks.

While Jones doesn’t have Burrow’s ability to move in the pocket or throw off-platform, he does have his deep accuracy, and throwing bombs to the fastest wide receiver corps in the country has been a recipe for success this season. When paired with plus arm talent, Jones will almost certainly be taken in one of the first two rounds next draft.

There is no doubt that Jones, as with Burrow, saw his production rise due to the excess of perimeter talent and quality schematic innovation on the sideline. However, some of the throws Jones has made this year will take your breath away in any offense, and that ability to rip off chunk plays should make him a hot commodity this April.