A – In truth, the 49ers have largely stuck to the classic Shanahan offense, for which Jones has always been an excellent fit. As they did against the Rams back in Week 5, the 49ers have centered their passing game around attacking underneath and intermediate areas, trusting Jones to make the right throws with his speed as a processor. For the most part, he has delivered, consistently delivering accurately and with anticipation on throws over the middle of the field.
One thing that has stood out is how well the 49ers have done at creating easy answers for Jones through the use of motion and route distribution, utilizing such tools to consistently get Christian McCaffrey into open space out of the backfield. There have been some wow throws from Jones, but the easy buttons have regularly been there thanks to some of the staple tricks in the Shanahan bag.
Jones has also unsurprisingly thrived on play-action, which was particularly effective last week against the New York Giants as the 49ers produced their best rushing performance of the season. With Purdy under center, the 49ers have relied more on pure dropback concepts and his ability to push the ball downfield and create outside of structure. The offense with Jones is more vintage Shanahan.
There’s nothing to indicate Jones’ development as a quarterback can’t be sustainable long term. He’s in the perfect spot with the 49ers and is contracted for one more year after this season. His performances this year could make him a popular target on the trade market, but any team considering a move for him would need to understand his strengths and weaknesses. The 49ers haven’t asked Jones to be something he isn’t, and that’s been critical to his success. For Jones to ascend outside of San Francisco a similar ecosystem and offense would likely need to be in place for the team acquiring him.
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