Mac Jones on DeAndre Hopkins: "We'd love to have him"

FOXBORO -- While Bill Belichick wasn't in the mood to talk about DeAndre Hopkins and the free agent's travel plans on Monday morning, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones had a good amount to say about the All Pro receiver after New England's first practice of minicamp.

Hopkins will reportedly meet with the Patriots at some point this week, which will be his second free agent visit after meeting with the Tennessee Titans over the weekend. Jones was asked about potentially adding Hopkins to New England's receiving corps following Monday's practice in Foxboro.

"I think that's definitely a hypothetical, but I think DeAndre is a great player," said Jones. "You watch his film from college all the way through the NFL, he's done a great job. So, obviously, we'd love to have him."

While Jones wouldn't mind adding the 5-time Pro Bowl receiver to his arsenal, he also made it clear that he likes working with New England's current crop of receivers. At the moment, Jones has DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne, and rookies Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and Ed Lee as his receivers.

"But we do have a great group of guys," said the quarterback. "We just know that we want to win and I know that all the guys feel the same way. But I've been really pleased with the playmakers that we have on our team.

"We've come out here and really bought into the system," Jones continued. "That'll really show in training camp and preseason and stuff. It's sometimes hard to show that out here [in minicamp] but I've been really pleased with the tight ends, running backs, and all the receivers, the young guys the old guys like DP (Parker) and everybody. 

"We have a good group and definitely feel like we just need to keep growing together. And whoever is in that room, we're just going to try to dominate together," he concluded.

Jones is looking to bounce back from a rough second season in 2022, which saw his numbers drop and his leadership questioned as the New England offense struggled under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The biggest change for Jones this offseason is Bill O'Brien taking over as offensive coordinator.

Jones said Monday that "there's a good juice around the building," but added that there is a long way to go.

"It's a marathon and not a sprint," he said.

Perhaps soon, Jones will have a top-line receiver like Hopkins running that marathon with him.