Matt Cassel has a rough rating on Mac Jones among NFL quarterbacks

BOSTON -- Former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel released a "way-too-early" ranking of every NFL quarterback this week. It's not very kind to Mac Jones.

With Cassel going from 1-32, he ranked Mac Jones at 25th in the league.

Jones is ranked only ahead of Jacoby Brissett, Kenny Pickett, Baker Mayfield, Davis Mills, Sam Darnold, Mike White and Desmond Ridder.

"There were a lot of ups and downs for Mac Jones this past season," Cassel wrote. "I'm still unsure of what type of quarterback he can be. But we will certainly find out with new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien returning to the New England Patriots this season."

That last line indicates that there's an opportunity for Jones to improve his standing among NFL quarterbacks this coming season. But coming off an ugly year with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the offense, it's clear that Jones' reputation has taken a hit.

Jones notably ranks far behind Daniel Jones (No. 16), Brock Purdy (No. 17) and Jimmy Garoppolo (No. 21), and he's also behind Andy Dalton (No. 22).

As stated, the list is described as being "way too early," which is quite obvious. Last year at this time, Geno Smith (No. 10) and Purdy would have been nowhere near the list, Matthew Stafford (No. 19) might have ranked in the top seven, and Daniel Jones might have ranked dead last. Mac Jones probably was situated somewhere around the middle of the pack. This year, coming off the slightly catastrophic 2022 season, he's lost some ground. This is, of course, just one ranking, but it's sure to fit with common thinking this offseason.

In fact, NFL.com ranked every quarterback in the league last week, with Mac Jones ranking 29th. That, though, was a ranking based on the 2022 season, not a projection of the future.

That ranking was also based on the poor coaching setup the Patriots employed on offense last year. Marc Sessler concluded that Jones now "emerges as a spicy bounce-back candidate with Bill O'Brien returning home to 'Alabama-fy' the offense."

(For what it's worth, Bailey Zappe ranked 47th at NFL.com, which is pretty good for a rookie backup.)

Over on Pro Football Focus, Jones was ranked 26th, in what was also more of a recap of the past than it was a projection on the future. Once again, much of the blame for that placement was put on Patricia.

Clearly, the stock is low on Jones right now. But everybody placing him among the bottom third of starting QBs is doing so with a caveat. It looks more like everybody feels compelled to rank Jones very low, based on the undeniably ugly numbers (14 TDs, 11 INTs, 84.8 rating) in 2022. Yet nobody seems to be ready to bury Jones and his overall career outlook. Not yet, at least.

For now, though, just about everyone will be looking for Jones to prove himself next season for the Patriots. He and the team have left him with ample room for improvement.