BOSTON — On Tuesday morning, Patriots coach Bill Belichick confirmed all the whispers, rumblings and reports about Mac Jones’ offseason.
How Jones has changed his body. How he’s seized a leadership role. How he worked to wrench every drop of potential from himself this spring and summer.
Belichick verified all of this with nine words.
“In all areas, I think there’s a dramatic improvement,” Belichick said during his video press conference.
He continued: “(Jones’) physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponent defenses, of situations, all those things. … He’s made tremendous strides.
“He did a great job last year, but he’s starting from a much, much higher point this year than where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant, and I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he (is) than he was a year ago.”
Belichick confirmed Jones will also have input on the Patriots’ revised offense, which the coaching staff was building as recently as last week, according to sources. Offensive assistants Matt Patricia and Joe Judge have effectively replaced former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels, who left to take over the Raiders. Judge is the new quarterbacks coach, though he also worked with the team’s pass catchers during minicamp.
As for Jones, his experience with the parts of the system that have been carried over will allow him to have higher-level conversations with the staff, according to Belichick.
“The plays that we talk about or concepts that we talk about, Mac’s already done before,” Belichick said before later adding: “It’s not really different, it’s just much further advanced. That’s all.”
As a rookie, Jones started all 18 games, including the Patriots’ wild-card playoff loss at Buffalo. He completed 67.6% of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during the regular season.
