University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy couldn’t have asked for a better ending to his college career.
The 20-year-old signal caller led the Wolverines to their first national championship since 1997, bookending a 27-1 run as the team’s starter in which he threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading Michigan to three straight Big Ten championships and consecutive College Football Playoff berths before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Several draft pundits appear to be divided on where exactly McCarthy ranks among the top prospects in the 2024 class — ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. listed him as his biggest wild-card QB in the draft — but The Athletic’s Dane Brugler recently disclosed where McCarthy is expected to go based on what he’s heard in league circles.
“McCarthy has projectable physical tools with an NFL arm and above-average mobility,” Brugler wrote. “Scouts consistently bring up his intangibles as a strong selling point for their coaches because of his retention, recall and competitive toughness. … Based on feedback from the NFL, McCarthy is expected to be drafted in the top 50 picks, the question is how early? Is there a team in the top 25 enamored with his long-term outlook?”
Assessing McCarthy’s ability to adapt his collegiate game skills to the NFL is the most difficult aspect of the projection process. This season McCarthy hardly played into the fourth quarter because Michigan blasted out so many teams.
Scouts are most concerned about whether McCarthy can lead a team on his own or if he is only a product of playing for QB guru Jim Harbaugh.
Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina, and Jayden Daniels of LSU are projected to be the top three quarterbacks selected—probably with the top three picks—leaving McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. of Washington, and Bo Nix of Oregon available for QB-hungry teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders to draft outside of the top 10.
