How Mac Jones’ preseason debut compares to other Patriots rookie quarterbacks

Related: What the win over Washington taught us about the Patriots’ quarterback position

Mac Jones may not have been perfect in his first ever NFL game, or encountered the same challenges he will come across in a more competitive setting, but he still looked pretty good. Being on the field for six drives during the New England Patriots’ preseason opener against the Washington Football Team on Thursday night, he showed why the team invested a first-round draft pick in him earlier this offseason.

Playing primarily, but not exclusively, with the team’s depth options along the offensive line and at the skill positions, Jones completed 13 of 19 passing attempts for 87 yards. He also was sacked once in his 33 snaps, and saw one successful throw to Jakobi Meyers ruled incomplete.

Obviously, though, all of these numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. Preseason football is considerably different than regular season or postseason competition, with teams only using vanilla scheming and no traditional preparation beforehand. Jones’ performance was solid, but he — like the rest of the Patriots — has a long way to go still.

That all said, he did look good. His release was quick, he showed proper poise in the pocket, and he appeared to make sound decisions with the football. Completing 68.4 percent of passes in any setting is a positive.

With that in mind, let’s compare how Jones performed relative to other Patriots rookie quarterbacks during the Bill Belichick era.

Jarrett Stidham

2019 at Detroit Lions | 14-for-24, 179 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 1 sack; 4 carries, 16 yards

While Brian Hoyer started the game against the Lions, Stidham entered it midway through the second quarter with the team already up 14-0. With the fourth-round rookie at the helm, the Patriots were able to add 17 more points to their total. The young quarterback had a solid statistical performance: he completed 14 of 24 throws for 179 yards as well as a touchdown and one successful two-point pass.

Stidham’s NFL debut was a sign of things to come, at least as far as preseason success is concerned. He ended up going 61-for-90 during his first exhibition slate, gaining 731 yards and throwing 4 touchdowns versus 1 interception. His performance gave the Patriots’ coaching staff confidence to release Hoyer and move forward with Stidham as New England’s QB2 behind Tom Brady.

However, he never failed to prove himself a long-term solution for the team. Stidham had a rough training camp after Brady left in 2020, and spent the season as a backup to newly Cam Newton. He currently is on the physically unable to perform list and would likely have competed for the third spot on the depth chart behind Newton and Jones.

Danny Etling

2018 vs Washington Football Team | 2-for-5, 21 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 1 carry, 0 yards; 1 lost fumble

While Danny Etling would later have one of the best preseason plays in recent memory — an 86-yard rushing touchdown versus the New York Giants — his debut was pretty unremarkable. The LSU product, who entered the league as a seventh-round draft pick, entered the game against Washington midway through the fourth quarter. He played three drives and 12 total snaps. He completed only 2 of 5 pass attempts and lost a fumble on an aborted snap.

Etling was eventually released on roster cutdown day and added to the Patriots’ practice squad. He did earn a Super Bowl ring on the developmental roster, but failed to earn a permanent spot with the organization: after being moved to wide receiver the following preseason, he was let go for good. He was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Falcons and later also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks. Etling currently is a backup QB in Minnesota.

Jacoby Brissett

2016 vs New Orleans Saints | 7-for-13, 63 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 2 carries, 19 yards

The Patriots’ third-round pick in 2016, Brissett entered the preseason opener against New Orleans at the half and ended up playing 28 snaps. He did not necessarily stand out and very much looked like the rookie he was at times, but he still had a solid overall performance despite leading the offense to “only” 10 points on six possessions.

Brissett looked good enough during the preseason that the Patriots decided to keep him as their number two behind Jimmy Garoppolo during Tom Brady’s four-game suspension to open the season. He eventually ended up starting two games, though, before being traded to the Indianapolis Colts just one year later.

Jimmy Garoppolo

2014 at Washington Football Team | 9-for-13, 157 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 1 carry, 9 yards

New England had invested a second-round draft selection in Garoppolo, and he very much looked like a viable starter during his preseason debut in Washington. Garoppolo was inserted into the game at the half, replacing fourth-year man Ryan Mallett. He ended up playing 27 snaps over four series, and led the Patriots to their only touchdown of the day (a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Brian Tyms).

Garoppolo had a tremendous preseason as a rookie, completing 46 of his 79 throws for 618 yards as well as 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. His performance was enough to push former third-round pick Mallett off the roster, and it possibly also helped inspire Tom Brady’s late-career surge: with Garoppolo on the Patriots’ roster between 2014 and 2017, Brady was the best quarterback in football and led the team to a pair of Super Bowls.

Garoppolo, meanwhile, was sent to San Francisco and remains the team’s starter for now. First-round rookie Trey Lance, however, is waiting in the wings.

Ryan Mallett

2011 vs Jacksonville Jaguars | 12-for-19, 164 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 2 carries, 5 yards

NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks called Ryan Mallett “the steal of the draft” after his preseason debut, and further wrote that “it seems the Patriots have picked up a franchise quarterback with their third-round pick.” With the benefit of hindsight we can say that neither of those proclamations turned out to be particularly accurate: Mallett started only eight games over the course of his NFL career, and none in New England.

His first game against Jacksonville, however, was an exciting one. Mallett entered the contest at the half and led the offense to four touchdowns — including a 16-yard throw to fellow rookie Stevan Ridley. He was unable to build on his momentum, obviously, but for one glorious night Mallett did indeed look like he could become a future franchise quarterback.

Zac Robinson

2010 vs New Orleans Saints | 3-for-8, 48 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 1 sack

The Patriots picked up Zac Robinson in the seventh round of the 2010 draft, and he saw the field for the first time four months later. He went on to deliver a pretty pedestrian performance: Robinson completed 3 of 8 throws for 48 yards and took one 9-yard sack after entering the game midway through the third quarter. New England did score one field goal on his fourth and final drive.

Robinson’s performance was a sign of things to come. He was released on roster cutdown day, and later went on to spend time with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals. His NFL career ended with zero in-game appearances in the regular season. He now is working as assistant wide receivers coach for the Los Angeles Rams.

Brian Hoyer

2009 vs Cincinnati Bengals* | 11-for-19, 112 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 2 sacks; 1 carry, 1 yard

The asterisk denotes that Hoyer did not play in the first preseason game in 2009, but rather had to wait a week before finally making his NFL debut. When it came, the Michigan State product was solid but not necessarily spectacular: the undrafted free agent played most of the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals and led the Patriots to exactly zero points.

Along the way, though, he completed 11 of his 19 passing attempts for 112 yards. He also was sacked twice, losing 16 yards in the process. Hoyer may not have stood out in his first ever NFL game, but he did enough to earn more opportunities. He eventually took advantage of them to earn the Patriots’ backup quarterback position over former third-round draft picks Kevin O’Connell and Andrew Walter.

Speaking of O’Connell…

Kevin O’Connell

2008 vs Baltimore Ravens | 6-for-13, 57 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 2 sacks; 2 carries, 22 yards

Like his entire tenure with the Patriots, Kevin O’Connell’s preseason debut was also rather forgettable. Playing 27 snaps after entering the game late in the third quarter, the third-round draft choice completed 6 for his 13 throws — including a 6-yarder to Matthew Slater — for a total of 57 yards as well as an interception on fourth down. He also took two sacks on the two plays preceding the pick.

That was a bad three-play stretch for O’Connell, who did not look much better throughout his rookie preseason. He ended up playing only two games for the Patriots during the regular season, and was released one year later.

O’Connell did find more success in his second career: he is currently the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator, working alongside fellow former ex-Patriots QB Zac Robinson.

Matt Gutierrez

2007 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-for-10, 66 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 1 sack; 1 carry, 5 yards

After Tom Brady and Matt Cassel split the first half, undrafted rookie Matt Gutierrez entered the Patriots’ 2007 preseason opener in the second. He ended up playing 21 snaps over three drives, including one that ended with a field goal.

Gutierrez final stat line against the Buccaneers may not have been impressive, but his preseason as a whole helped him make New England’s 53-man roster. Serving as the team’s QB3, the Idaho State product ended up appearing in five games during the regular season. His tenure eventually came to an end during 2009 training camp, however.

Corey Bramlet

2006 at New York Giants* | 0-for-1, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 1 sack

Like fellow undrafted free agent Brian Hoyer, Corey Bramlet also did not see any action in the preseason opener as a rookie. He was used exclusively on kneel-downs one week later — gaining -3 yards on 3 such plays — before his first real in-game action against the Giants in the preseason finale that year.

The performance was not necessarily one for the ages. Bramlet played six snaps in the fourth quarter and dropped back to pass three times. He threw an incomplete pass, was sacked for a loss of 5 yards one play later, and later had an interception taken off the board due to defensive pass interference. The Wyoming product was released a few day later, effectively ending his NFL career.

Matt Cassel

2005 at Cincinnati Bengals | 13-for-21, 135 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 3 sacks; 5 carries, 46 yards; 1 lost fumble

Fresh off a college career that famously did not see him start even a single game, Cassel entered the Patriots’ preseason opener in Cincinnati midway through the second quarter and as the second QB behind Rohan Davey. While Davey had a rather disappointing performance, Cassel looked very good in his professional debut.

He did lose a fumble, yes, but he also led the Patriots to two touchdowns and two field goals. Along the way, he completed 13 of 21 throws for 135 yards and a 20-yard touchdown throw to Jason Anderson. The Associated Press later wrote that Cassel “outdid his entire college career in his first NFL game.” That statement might have been bold, but it was also partially true: Cassel never threw a touchdown while at USC.

His performance was a harbinger of things to come: Cassel beat out both Davey and Chris Redmond for the third quarterback position behind Tom Brady and Doug Flutie. He ended up spending four seasons in New England — including 2008 as the starter in place of an injured Brady — before getting traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kliff Kingsbury

2003 vs New York Giants | 1-for-4, 11 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 1 sack

The Arizona Cardinals’ current head coach started his career in the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2003. Kingsbury’s one season with the club was unspectacular — he spent all of it on injured reserve — as was his first game wearing the New England uniform: playing nine snaps after entering the contest in the fourth quarter, he went 1-for-4 and also was sacked once.

Kingsbury did not throw another pass all preseason, and he did also not convince the coaches to keep him around the following summer. He eventually was released on cutdown day in 2004, with his professional career coming to an end in 2007. However, he did turn to coaching a short time later and has had a pretty nice career since.

Rohan Davey

2002 at New York Giants | 5-for-9, 91 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 1 sack, 2 carries, 18 yards

Late in the third quarter of their preseason opener in New York, fourth-round rookie Rohan Davey made his debut for the Patriots. The LSU product ended up playing 16 snaps that day, posting a relatively unspectacular stat-line. While he gained 91 yards on a 5-for-9 passing performance, he also threw an interception one play after taking his first career sack. Davey also gained 18 yards on the ground.

Davey’s biggest play of the day was a 46-yard completion to Fred Coleman that set up an Adam Vinatieri field goal. He eventually ended up making the Patriots’ 53-man roster as a backup QB, and over the next three years appeared in seven games in mop-up duty. Nonetheless, he did earn two Super Bowl rings along the way — thanks in large part due to:

Tom Brady

2000 vs San Francisco 49ers | 3-for-4, 28 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

On the same weekend as his idol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tom Brady made his NFL debut versus his hometown team. The 49ers, who had passed on him in the draft, did not know it at the time (neither did anybody else) but Brady would eventually surpass Joe Montana as the consensus greatest quarterback of all time — and he did so after going 3-for-4 for 28 yards in his preseason debut.

Brady’s career accomplishments and status as the most decorated athlete the NFL has ever seen is well known. What is not, however, is who caught those three passes that he threw against San Francisco in the 2000 Hall of Fame Game.

The first throw went to Sean Morey for 8 yards, followed by a completion to Chris Floyd for 8 more. After an incomplete throw intended for Shockmain Davis, Brady and Davis connected on a 12-yarder. Brady, who had entered the game midway through the fourth period, ended up playing 17 snaps that day. The final two of them saw him kneel down to secure his team’s victory — something he has gotten used to over the years.

So, what does all of this tell us about Mac Jones’ performance against Washington? Well, not a whole lot except one thing: preseason performance has to be treated as such and is not necessarily indicative of any future success.

Tom Brady’s debut was pretty unspectacular, but he turned into the greatest quarterback of all time. On the other hand, Ryan Mallett looked like a sure-fire franchise QB in his debut but later flamed out. There simply are too many variables at play, and too big a difference between exhibition and regular season play.

Obviously, Jones’ first game as a Patriot was a promising one. He showed the skills that made him a first-round pick, and appears to adapt well to life in the notoriously difficult New England system.

However, one game does not a starter-level quarterback make. Jones, as those before him have shown, still has a ways to go before we can determine whether or not he will be the next Brady, the next Mallett, or something in between.