Kendrick Bourne on Mac Jones: He Has A Swag I Didn't Know He Had

The New England Patriots have a quarterback competition on their hands.

New versus old. Alabama versus Auburn. The pocket pass versus the dual threat. In many ways, Mac Jones couldn't be more opposite than Cam Newton. In one way though, they may be more similar than we originally thought.

Newton has always had some swagger about him. And now, according to newly signed free agent wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, Jones has a little bit of that too -- and it's something Bourne wasn't really expecting.

On Thursday, Bourne shared his thoughts on the rookie first-round pick.

“Mac, good energy. Awesome guy,” Bourne said, via the Providence Journal. “You can tell he’s happy to be here. Comes to work, and you can just feel his energy and his leadership already. He has a swag to him that I didn’t know that he had. He’s out there confident. That’s what you need in our quarterback and all our players. ... He’s come in with that , and I feel like that’s going to take him a long way.”

For anyone who keeps up with the Alabama football program, that news may not be surprising.

Think about the situation Jones came into. He was the second quarterback in the Tide's 2017 recruiting class. Tua Tagovailoa was the five-star phenom, while he was just a three-star who was viewed as a long-term depth piece.

Instead, Jones brought a confidence and a competitiveness that helped him work his way into the backup spot. When Tagovailoa went down with a season-ending hip injury in 2019, Jones stepped in and filled the role admirably. Outside of the two pick-sixes against Auburn, he was almost flawless.

Despite that success, many expected another five-star, true freshman Bryce Young, to come in and take the starting job in his first season. Not only did that not happen, Jones put up the best statistical season in Alabama football history. He also finished in the Heisman Trophy top three and won the Davey O'Brien Award.

Jones is worried about Jones, mostly because he understands that if he continues to work on his game, the rest will take care of itself. He's confident in his abilities, and that's already evident through the first portion of OTAs.

Now it's time to see whether he can turn that into a starting job out of the gate -- or at least early in the season.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.