ESPN analyst Louis Riddick has thrown his support behind New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones ahead of a big year for him. 

This year is set to be a very interesting one for Mac Jones, head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots as a whole.

In what will be their second year without the services of franchise legend Tom Brady to lead the ship, this is one that the team will hope that they can take the big leap to being serious candidates for Super Bowl honours once again, and that Jones can move to the next level when it comes to being a franchise quarterback.

He started off his NFL career very well last year, put up over 3,800 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season before falling at the first hurdle to the division rival Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, but now it’s going to be a case of if he will take that progression, or suffer the dreaded ‘sophomore slump’.

Not so smooth sailings ahead? 

Things though are far from organised, at least on the outside, when it comes to the structure of the Patriots as they head into the season, as the team haven’t named an official offensive or defensive coordinator yet, nor does there look like there’s an agreement on who will call plays on offense.

Belichick stated recently “We're not really big on titles and all that” and that “I'm the head coach. Ultimately I'm responsible for everything. So, we'll just leave it at that. That's the way it is.”

But whilst things might not be looking too good, that doesn’t mean that things are going to be a total disaster, and according to Louis Riddick, Jones could be the man to help steady the ship.

What’s he said?

Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up, Riddick claimed that, despite his young age, a lot of the skills and qualities that Jones has would be enough for him to rise above of the chaos that is going around him in Foxborough:

Based on what Jones was able to do in his first year, especially given the pressure that is on him to be the heir-apparent to Brady, there is certainly plenty to be said for Riddick’s argument that he can help be the driving force this year and keep the Patriots out of trouble.

And if he can do it this year, then it might just be the milestone he needs when it comes to prove that he is the right man to take over from Brady in the long run.