Many of those in the NFL thought that quarterback and Alabama alum Mac Jones’ career as a starter was inevitably over with.

But with an immediate opportunity to prove what he can do with the San Francisco 49ers, Jones has instantly become one of the NFL’s most intriguing subjects.

After the injury to Brock Purdy, Jones assumed the starting position in San Francisco and ran with it.

In three starts this season, he’s completed 67% of his passes, thrown for 905 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception. However, he immediately won fans over after his heroic performance on Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.

Jones, who was already battling with a sprained PCL, threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. In that game, he took a couple of brutal hits that left him on the ground for a bit of time. But he always came back and pulled out the win against the Niners’ NFC West rivals.

You may remember that Jones was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, and after his first year taking the Patriots to the playoffs and making the Pro Bowl, his numbers started taking a hit.

From there, it was always a discussion between whether he or Bailey Zappe should be starting for the Pats, and ultimately Jones was benched for Zappe for the remainder of the season after Week 12.

His college coach, Nick Saban, who he had won a National Championship with in 2020, was effusive in his praise for Jones, and even had some words directed at the Patriots organization on the Pat McAfee Show last Friday.

"I'm so happy for Mac," he said. "I think Mac was one of those guys who was in bad situations in New England relative to coaching and all that type of stuff, and who was the offensive coordinator, and how did he get developed when he came into the league. He hasn't been in great circumstances. I think, right now, he is in a really good circumstance with [49ers head coach Kyle] Shanahan and their offense."

Saban was probably alluding to the fact that after Jones’ Pro Bowl rookie season, the Patriots opted to turn Matt Patricia as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Patricia, who is now the defensive coordinator with Ohio State, has spent his whole career as a defensive specialist, and even served as the Patriots defensive coordinator from 2012 through 2017.

With Patricia calling the offensive plays, it eventually resulted in Jones’ downfall in New England.

While with Alabama, Jones had one of the best seasons in FBS history.

While finishing third in Heisman voting behind teammate DeVonta Smith and Trevor Lawrence, Jones posted an FBS-leading 311 completions, 77.4% completion rate, and 4,500 passing yards.

Not only that, he’s the current career leader in yards gained per pass attempt in FBS history.