The 2024 NFL Draft will take place from Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April, 27 from Hart Plaza in Detroit. Skyrocketing up draft boards over the last few months has been Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who could hear his name called in the top 10 on Thursday night. After a successful career in Ann Arbor, we’ll see if he can produce at a high level in the NFL ranks.
McCarthy arrived to Michigan as a highly ranked prospect in 2021, where he spent his freshman season backing up then starter Cade McNamara. He’d go on to beat out McNamara for the starting job at beginning of the 2022 campaign, kickstarting one of the most accomplished two-year runs for any QB in program history. His accomplishments through his two years as the starter included a 27-1 record with two victories over Ohio State, two Big Ten titles, two trips to the College Football Playoff, and of course, a national championship in 2023.
He ultimately finished his college career completing 67.6% of his passes for 6,226 yards with 49 passing touchdowns to just 11 interceptions. He also punched in 10 career rushing touchdowns on the ground.
J.J. McCarthy: Scouting Report
McCarthy’s emergence as a potential top-10 pick in this draft has spurred debate over the past few months. He showed tremendous leadership qualities as the starting QB of a national championship-winning team and was very efficient through the air. On top of that, he has pretty good size at 6’2”, 219 pounds.
However, the Wolverines ran a power-run heavy scheme under then head coach Jim Harbaugh and the offense was more centered around running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. There were only a handful of weeks where McCarthy went over 25 pass attempts and had just one game in 2023 where he crossed 300 yards. With Michigan having a huge talent advantage most weeks, the QB wasn’t tasked with carrying the offense with his arm very often and that has led some to tag him with the “game manager” label. That’s why the sudden push for McCarthy as a top pick is a bit curious.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein praised his ability to ramp up focus late in games and make positive plays, but offered some critiques. Here’s part of his assessment:
… McCarthy lacks frame thickness and a plus arm. He’s fairly poised in the pocket but is average as a pocket passer. His ball placement and timing need to improve to help mitigate an average operation time due to a windup release. McCarthy doesn’t seek to play out of structure but is fairly consistent at making positive plays when it happens and ramps up his focus late in games and on third downs. He is confident and seems to have the ability to take slights and digest it as competitive fuel ….
Mock Draft landing spots
Where McCarthy lands is one of the biggest question marks heading into the first round. A number of teams in around the top 10 could potentially get his services, a list that includes the New England Patriots (3), New York Giants (6), Minnesota Vikings (11), Denver Broncos (12), and Las Vegas Raiders (13). The latter three teams could try to trade up for him to avoid one of the other squads beating them to the punch.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Field Yates predicted the Vikings trading up to take him at No. 5. Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks predicted him simply falling to the Vikings at No. 11.
Fantasy football implications
You’d normally try to avoid rookie QBs in redraft leagues and unless you’re in a deep leagues, I’d simply wait and try to get McCarthy off the waiver wire if you’re interested. As with all rookies, there will be a learning curve and he most likely won’t make much of a fantasy impact in Year 1. If he does go to a team like the Vikings, there’s a chance he could start the season as a backup to a veteran like Sam Darnold.
McCarthy is a risky option in keeper and dynasty formats. He feels more like a project who might need a few seasons to develop fully and even then, he may not reach anything close to a ceiling. There should be more appealing QBs in dynasty drafts (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr.) who have more fantasy football upside than McCarthy.
