The 49ers offense is a goldmine for quarterbacks.
It got Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy paid, it saved Sam Darnold's career and got him paid elsewhere and it created a career for backup quarterback Nick Mullens.
So it's no secret why Mac Jones wanted to sign with the 49ers this offseason. He's a former first-round pick who's on his third team in five seasons. This is his last chance to show that he's worth an NFL team's time and money.
This week, I asked him what makes the 49ers' offensive scheme so quarterback-friendly.
“I think that's definitely a loaded question," Jones said. "I think they do a great job explaining what the expectation of each play is and why they're doing a certain play. And there’s nothing left up to doubt, if that makes sense. And everything's based on timing and rhythm and also playing off structure. So, it has all three elements of quarterback play. And yeah, it's really interesting to watch it and see how they see the game because it is the correct way to see it. And as you can tell, the quarterback play is very efficient.”
It sounds like the 49ers are very clear about what the 49ers want their quarterback to do on a given play. He doesn't have think much or make many decisions -- he just has to execute what he has been coached to do. That's why the 49ers don't let their quarterbacks call audibles or set pass protections at the line of scrimmage. They want their quarterbacks to focus solely on executing the play and completing the pass.
That's why all the quarterbacks on the 49ers generally put up similar numbers in terms of completion percentage and yards per pass attempt.
In many ways, those numbers are a reflection of the system, not the quarterback.