MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/15)
Josh Gross
If there was any suspense left about whether the New England Patriots’ 2024 starting quarterback is on the roster, it all but evaporated Sunday with news that the team has agreed to trade Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a reported sixth-round pick.
Jones, the team’s first-round pick (15th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft, made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting with 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns, but he’s regressed in the two years since, coming in under 3,000 yards each of the last two years with 14 and 10 passing touchdowns. He finished as the QB18 in 2021 with 237.9 fantasy points (14.0 per game), but slipped to QB23 in 2022 with 181.1 points (12.9 PPG) and then QB30 in 2023 with 118.4 points (10.8 PPG).
Mac Jones Traded to Jacksonville, Fantasy Reaction
Jones slides in as the heavy favorite over C.J. Beathard to be the No. 2 quarterback in Jacksonville in 2024 behind fellow 2021 first-rounder Trevor Lawrence, but there is little chance outside of a Lawrence injury that Jones even sniffs significant playing time. His best bet at this point is to impress in preseason or limited regular-season time and rebuild his value over time for hopes at a starting job someday down the road.
Meanwhile, this move all but ensures the Patriots will be adding a quarterback this offseason, whether in the draft or on the market. Not that that was in much suspense, but Jones’ departure leaves only Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke as quarterbacks on the roster. The Patriots hold the third overall pick in next month’s draft, so they could easily take whichever of the top three quarterbacks falls to them (currently most likely Jayden Daniels). They are also rumored to be candidates to trade down and take a J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix or Michael Penix later, or they could be on the market for a Kirk Cousins, Justin Fields or Russell Wilson when the new league year begins.
The team definitely needs pass-catching help this offseason as well, even after re-signing incumbent tight end Hunter Henry. Demario Douglas showed some potential down the stretch last year as a rookie, but there isn’t much else there for a quarterback to hang his hat on. So there’s a wide range of outcomes in fantasy for whoever comes in as the 2024 starter in New England.
