2021 NFL Draft: Chris Mortensen makes a bold prediction for San Francisco 49ers third overall pick
The 2021 NFL Draft might not get underway until late next month, but that hasn't stopped the San Francisco 49ers from making big plays on early downs.
The 49ers organization traded away its 12th overall pick in this year's draft and a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2022 third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the 3rd overall pick come April 29th.
The 49ers are now in an excellent position to land themselves a franchise quarterback at this year's draft.
The big question now doing the rounds on social media is of course, which quarterback will the San Francisco 49ers choose? And NFL analysts have been doing their darndest to answer.
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms could hardly have expected to go viral when he went on record stating that the 49ers should pluck for Alabama Crimson Tide's CFP National Championship-winning QB Mac Jones with their no. 3 pick.
Jones isn't expected to go off the draft board until the middle-end of the first-round, so Simms came under fire on Twitter for his selection, with many fans believing him to be reaching.
The NBC analyst isn't the only one who rates Jones highly. ESPN's Chris Mortensen took to Twitter to agree with his counterpart, also suggesting NDSU's Trey Lance as a ‘fallback’ option.
The thread is alive with disgruntled NFL fans who believe both analysts are guilty of over-rating Mac Jones. It's easy to understand why, when CBSsports' own Mock Draft board has the Alabama QB going off the board at No. 28 to the New Orleans Saints.
Is Mac Jones worth the San Francisco 49ers' No.3 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft?
My personal opinion is that Mac Jones is being undervalued in the 2021 NFL Draft. Detractors may point to the fact he played in a championship-winning team, behind a talented offensive line, in a backfield that featured Jaylen Waddle and Heisman award-winner Devonta Smith among its receiving corps.
Personally, I don't see why playing with talented players should disparage Jones's stock. It takes two (or in this case 3) to tango, and Smith and Waddle weren't out there throwing the ball to themselves.
In 2020, Mac Jones led all of college football in passing, throwing for 4,500-yards, contributing 41 TD passes to boot. Jones also registered a completion percentage of 77.4% and was awarded the highest ever mark in his position by PFF, 95.5.
Jones's stats and honors during his senior year at college should not be disregarded just because he played in a talented team. Tom Brady played in a talented team with the Bucs last year, but we don't hear many NFL fans down in Tampa complaining about it.
Also Read: Manning vs Brady: Who is the better NFL player?
I'm fairly confident that the Heisman winner, Devonta Smith and his counterpart on the opposite flank, Jaylen Waddle (seen below) would both tell you the same thing. They certainly rate Jones higher than last year's No.3 overall pick, Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins).