Who will it be? Justin Fields of Ohio State or Trey Lance of North Dakota State? Or could the San Francisco 49ers go in another direction? Immediately following the trade from No. 12 to No. 3, NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, voiced his opinion. He feels Mac Jones of Alabama is the best fit based on what he knows about his close friend, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Simms reiterated those thoughts on Monday while speaking to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio asked his PFT Live co-host who he thinks Shanahan is leaning toward with a draft still a full month away.
"I think it's Mac Jones. I do," Simms responded. "I don't know that, but just knowing my friend, knowing his history, knowing his school of thought to make that type of move, that's the one that makes sense to me. ... I think he makes sense to him, one, because, I think, after Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson ... he's the most NFL ready right now."
Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will speak with reporters on Monday afternoon. Then they will head to Tuscaloosa to watch Jones throw on Tuesday in his second workout in a week's time. Fields will also be throwing on Tuesday, but Lynch and Shanahan chose to watch Jones instead, sending assistant general manager Adam Peters and a contingent of staff to observe Fields.
"And I would say, really Zach Wilson and Mac Jones, to me, are more NFL ready as far as reading NFL defenses and being able to do NFL-offense type of stuff," Simms continued. "... And I think that's the type of guy you trade up to No. 3 to get. You don't trade up to a Trey Lance (type) of a, 'Well, he's got great talent, but we're not sure. It's a little bit of a gamble. There's some things we've got to help him out with and grow his technique and figure those type of things out.'
"And I think that goes with Justin Fields too, that it's a little bit more of a project. I don't think you trade up to a No. 3 pick for that type of guy. I think you trade up for a No. 3 pick where you go, 'No, I kind of think this guy, if I had to, could start and play this year, ready to go, Week 1,' and that, to me, smells Mac Jones because I expect Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence to be gone, of course."
Alabama QB Mac Jones says he's watched a lot of 49ers tape. Says their drop-back passing game is similar to what Alabama does. Calls it a "super quarterback fiendly" offense
Jones fits more of the Kirk Cousins mold. The Minnesota Vikings quarterback has been linked to Shanahan and the 49ers at almost every opportunity—mostly by Florio. Shanahan has always been and remains a fan of the former Washington Football Team draft pick.
"I think he's sitting there going, 'I think this guy's just like that,'" Simms added. "He's talented like Matt Ryan, and he can dice you up with his arm and his brain, his decision making. And the athleticism is enough for him to do the boots and play-action for my offense. And if you give me a crack of more than two years with a quarterback like that, I think he thinks, I'm going to win a Super Bowl.
"And I think that's ultimately why he makes that type of decision. And I like I said, I will be shocked if it's not Mac Jones at No. 3. I really would be."
Trotter: 49ers traded up to evaluate Trey Lance, Justin Fields; Mac Jones was a 'safety net'
By David Bonilla
May 1, 2021
Jim Trotter took a look inside the San Francisco 49ers' month-long draft evaluation process that ended this week with the selection of Trey Lance of North Dakota State at No. 3 overall. Since March 26, when the Niners traded a haul of draft capital to the Miami Dolphins to move up, rampant speculation surrounded the team's target. It made for great ratings, I suppose.
For a long time, Mac Jones of Alabama was seen as the most likely candidate to be headed to the Bay Area. Not necessarily by fans, but by the many analysts and media members with blue checkmarks by their names on Twitter.
That left fans infuriated. Jones was not a popular option. Both Lance and Justin Fields of Ohio State were favored over the Alabama quarterback.
In the end, it wasn't
John Lynch thinks even Jed York believed the 49ers were drafting Mac Jones
By David Bonilla
May 3, 2021
When general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan approached Jed York about the possibility of trading up to the No. 3 overall pick, the San Francisco 49ers CEO made it clear that he trusted his team's top decision-makers and encouraged them to do whatever they felt was best for the organization.
They had one more ask, though.
Lynch and Shanahan also wanted to hold onto Garoppolo, who will earn a base salary of $24.1 million this year. That is a lot of money to commit to a player they were looking to replace. However, it does set the team up for immediate success.
"And he backed it 100 percent because he wants to win,"
Schefter: 49ers believe Trey Lance is 'closer to playing this season' than Mac Jones
By David Bonilla
May 3, 2021
Adam Schefter is among those who spearheaded the rampant speculation that the San Francisco 49ers were likely to select Mac Jones of Alabama. Of course, along the way, he acknowledged that was speculation based on what he heard from around the league.
No one outside of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch knew what the team's decision-makers were thinking. Schefter repeatedly made that clear.
One of the criticisms of Lance was the former Bison's inexperience. The 49ers kept Jimmy Garoppolo, and the plan is for the veteran to be the team's starter for the upcoming season. If Lance doesn't play, that means the rookie will have missed nearly the entirety of two consecutive seasons, with his last in-game action being in a non-conference game on
QB Mac Jones says he "secretly" wanted to get picked by Patriots
By Kirk Larrabee
Apr 29, 2021
After weeks of reports saying it would likely happen, quarterback Mac Jones won't be joining the San Francisco 49ers. And that seems to be just fine by him.
Jones was mentioned by a number of reporters as the likely choice of the 49ers ever since they traded up from pick 12 to pick 3 in March. But when the time came for the 49ers to make their selection at pick 3 Thursday night, Jones was left at the altar while the 49ers decided to hitch their wagon to Trey Lance.
Jones fell to pick 15 in the first round, where he was scooped up by the New England Patriots. Not long after the Patriots made him their selection, Jones told reporters that New England was where he was hoping to wind up from the beginning.
"At the end of the day, you just kind of want to
