2021 NFL Draft: Mac Jones has edge over Kyle Trask in QB5 battle

Mac Jones and Kyle Trask are each enjoying impressive seasons

Mac Jones and Kyle Trask are each entering crucial periods of the 2020 college football season as they remain on a collision course to meet in the SEC Championship game with each quarterback firmly in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy. In terms of how they should be viewed as 2021 NFL Draft prospects, recent performances have made it clear it is Jones who has the edge.

Alabama starter Jones and Florida signal-caller Trask both enjoyed hugely impressive statistical days in Week 13, but it was the former whose display should have led to greater intrigue among NFL evaluators.

Jones has risen to every challenge he has faced this season and the Iron Bowl was no different, as he threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns in a blowout win over Auburn.

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His QBR – per FiveThirtyEight – for the season stands at 95.5, the highest of any quarterback since 2004, after a performance in which he showcased impressive touch and ball placement on his downfield throws while also demonstrating the ability to process and get the ball out quickly and deliver with anticipation.

Where Jones was most impressive, however, was in climbing the pocket to evade pressure, which he did with consummate ease on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jahleel Billingsley in the second quarter.

Trask produced a similarly strong statistical effort against Kentucky, taking advantage of the Wildcats defense to the tune of 256 yards and three passing touchdowns.

He has a QBR of 93.4 this season but, while he did a nice job of putting the ball in front of his receivers to maximize their opportunities to pick up yardage after the catch, Trask displayed some worrying tendencies in a game in which the Gators were rarely in any danger of succumbing to a shock defeat.

Mac Jones' pocket presence here is awesome.

The Crimson Tide is rolling. pic.twitter.com/mOHXM5jshn
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 28, 2020

In contrast to Jones, Trask throws with a long wind-up and was fortunate to see some poor decisions go unpunished as he was bailed out by a talented cast of skill-position players.

Though previous games have seen Trask negate pressure with intelligent pocket movement, he did not excel in that regard against Kentucky. He rarely climbed the pocket and was too willing to throw off his back foot when he does not possess the arm to complete such passes with regularity.

The ceiling for both Jones and Trask in the 2021 draft would appear to be QB5, with Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance set to be selected ahead of them.

There is little to separate the two in terms of tools. Their arm strength is similar but Jones is the more mobile, at least offering some threat with his legs, and it is he who – based purely on the film – looks the better bet to be the fifth quarterback off the board.

Jones will have another chance to add to his resume against LSU on Saturday before taking on Arkansas, with Trask also facing the Tigers after a meeting with the Tennessee Volunteers.

The likelihood is that they will each overcome their remaining obstacles and meet for the SEC title. Last week’s evidence indicates Jones will be the favorite to be QB5 in the draft going into that game and he could effectively lock himself into that position by outplaying Trask in the championship matchup.