Since the 2021 NFL draft began on Thursday night, reporters, broadcasters and sports media members have been analyzing every aspect of every pick.
One selection that is being talked about a bit more than others is the New England Patriots’ selection of quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th overall pick.
Having covered the SEC for years, Paul Finebaum had plenty to say about the former Alabama QB heading to Foxborough when he joined “Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin” on Friday morning.
“I’m also a little concerned about this rather lazy, ‘well, Bill Belichick knows what he’s doing,'” the SEC Network host and ESPN college football analyst said.
Finebaum made the argument that the media has become lazy in the way it covers Belichick. He said that while it is clear that the Patriots earned some benefit of the doubt in the past, that now appears to be largely thanks to former quarterback Tom Brady. With Brady now in Tampa, Finebaum isn’t so sure Belichick is as much of a sure thing as he once was thought to be.
He goes on to say that the longtime coach has made some bad hires and coaching decisions in the past and, while Paul Finebaum said he likes Jones, people shouldn’t assume that the QB is going to turn into a superstar just because Belichick drafted him.
“Don’t confuse the fact that just because Bill Belichick drafts you and he’s never drafted a quarterback before, well big deal, why did he need to draft a quarterback in the first round before, that Mac Jones is automatically going to become the next Payton Manning,” said Finebaum.
Finebaum also told the guys that he’s more concerned about Belichick’s future in New England than he is about Jones’s, yet that’s not a narrative the media will ever discuss.