The Patriots would like to see fewer temper tantrums under center in the future.
When speaking to the media Tuesday at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the Patriots’ director of scouting, Eliot Wolf, discussed what traits he looks for in a quarterback as speculation continues to mount about Mac Jones’ future in New England, with the team holding the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“First of all, being someone that can elevate his teammates, someone that your teammates want to play for,” Wolf said, according to NBC Sports Boston.
“I think that’s an extremely underrated thing that people don’t really talk about that much.”
Wolf, who is currently handling GM duties, also zeroed in on the importance of “body language.”
“Body language on the field is very important at that position. You don’t want a guy that’s throwing his hands up after a bad play, or you can see him physically pointing at somebody. Body language is important, everybody’s looking to the quarterback,” he said.
Some social media users then surmised that Wolf was taking aim at Jones, the Patriots’ 15th overall pick in 2021, whose frustrations often spilled over on game days.
“Eliot Wolf just told you Mac Jones is gone,” one X user said in response to Wolf’s presser.
Another posted, “Eliot Wolf basically took a flamethrower to Belichick and Mac Jones today, and I’m so here for it.”
It’s been quite the spiral for Jones, who showed flashes in his rookie season and helped lead New England to the postseason for the first time in the post-Tom Brady era.
Warning: Explicit language
But when then-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left the Patriots at the end of the 2021 season for the Raiders’ head coaching job, former defensive and special teams coordinators, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, respectively, were tasked to run the offense, which sputtered in 2022.
Jones lost his cool on the sidelines at different points in the year, with Patriots greats Vince Wilfork and Julian Edelman growing tired of the theatrics.
The former Alabama product later struggled in 2023 and was benched multiple times throughout the year, with backup quarterback Bailey Zappe eventually taking the reins.
Wolf did not expand on the team’s plans concerning Jones, 25, and Zappe, 24.
“We’re not going to be a program that’s talking about these guys in terms of through the media,” Wolf said.
“We’re going to do what’s best for the team behind the scenes and the strategy of that is going to be myself, [Patriots head coach] Jerod Mayo and [director of player personnel] Matt Groh and we’re going to try to do the right thing for the team.”
The Patriots finished in the basement of the AFC East this past season at 4-13 — their second straight year of missing the playoffs.
