A – In truth, the 49ers have largely stuck to the classic Shanahan offense, for which Jones has always been a perfect fit. As they did against the Rams in Week 5, the 49ers have focused their passing game on attacking underneath and in the middle areas, trusting Jones to make the right throws with his speed as a processor. For the most part, he has delivered, consistently delivering with accuracy and anticipation on throws down the middle of the field.
One thing that has stood out is how well the 49ers have done in creating easy answers for Jones through the use of movement and route distribution, using such tools to consistently get Christian McCaffrey into open space out of the backfield. There have been some surprising releases from Jones, but the easy buttons have been there regularly thanks to some of the Shanahan bag’s basic tricks.
Unsurprisingly, Jones has also thrived in play-action, which was particularly effective last week against the New York Giants when the 49ers produced their best rushing performance of the season. With Purdy under center, the 49ers have relied more on pure dropback concepts and their ability to push the ball downfield and create outside of structure. The offense with Jones is more classic Shanahan.
There’s nothing to indicate that Jones’ development as a quarterback can’t be sustainable long-term. He’s in the perfect place with the 49ers and is under contract 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’s not, and that has been critical to their success. For Jones to move up outside of San Francisco, it would likely require a similar ecosystem and offense for the team to acquire him.