With so many smokescreens and teams keeping their strategies close to the vest, it's tough to believe anything you hear when it comes to pre-draft rumors and speculation. Everyone in the media feels the San Francisco 49ers traded up to the No. 3 spot for Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, whether they can make sense of it or not.
Much of that is based on what they hear from around the league. Their colleagues and other teams feel Jones might be the pick, despite the overwhelming opinion that the selection would be a reach.
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks doesn't even view Jones as worthy of a first-round pick, much less No. 3 overall.
"Perhaps the Alabama quarterback is a secret member of The Avengers, operating like Tony Stark as Iron Man," wrote Brooks in a recent feature for NFL.com. "... While I'm not issuing a complete dismissal of Jones' talents as a pinpoint passer with nice timing, touch and anticipation, he significantly benefited from playing behind an NFL-caliber offensive line with first-round talents at wide receiver and running back. The Crimson Tide offense was the armored suit that elevated Jones' game, and scouts need to keep his production in perspective when gauging his talent."
Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are widely expected to go one and two, respectively, in the draft. The latter is more of a lock after the New York Jets traded quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers.
Where does that leave the 49ers in the mind of Brooks' colleague and podcast co-host, analyst Daniel Jeremiah? With the player consuming much of the chatter—Jones. The analyst released his latest mock draft on Tuesday, and, like so many others, he doesn't sound too confident about the value of selecting the former Crimson Tide quarterback that high.
"I'm not surprised San Francisco traded up to No. 3," wrote Jeremiah. "I am surprised that everything you hear points toward Jones being the Niners' pick at No. 3."
Where does that leave Trey Lance of North Dakota State and Justin Fields of Ohio State, the two quarterbacks viewed as having greater upside? Jeremiah has the Atlanta Falcons acquiring their eventual Matt Ryan replacement in Lance with the next selection—No. 4 overall. Fields drops down to the Detroit Lions at No. 7, even though the team added Jared Goff via a trade.