Despite an historic season as quarterback of the national title-winning Michigan Wolverines, J.J. McCarthy is not widely seen as a top 10 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. But ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes that he’ll still be a top pick regardless.
In his first mock draft of the 2024 offseason, Kiper said that while he doesn’t personally grade McCarthy as a first-round talent, he believes that one QB-needy team will take him in the first round for his potential upside. As a result, he’s predicting the Seattle Seahawks will draft him No. 16 overall in April.
“OK, here’s a spot for the next quarterback. While I don’t have a first-round grade on McCarthy right now — a lot can change before Round 1 on April 25 — he does have first-round arm talent, along with the ability to beat defenses with his legs. He’s the type of quarterback teams will take a shot at in the middle of the first round, especially when you consider he just turned 21 a few days ago. He rarely turns the ball over — he threw 44 touchdown passes and had nine picks over the past two seasons — and can make every throw. McCarthy just wasn’t asked to beat teams with his arm for the Wolverines, because they so often dominated at the line of scrimmage. As of now, I’m betting on a team seeing his upside and trying to take him somewhere in the teens,” Kiper wrote.
Kiper also noted that he believes that if an NFL team like the Atlanta Falcons winds up hiring Jim Harbaugh out of Michigan, McCarthy could wind up being the team’s first-round pick.
New 2024 mock draft is here. My first stab at predicting the top 32 picks. https://t.co/bMrNhPhRC6
— Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) January 23, 2024
J.J. McCarthy ranks in the top 10 for passing in Michigan team history. This past year he completed 72.3-percent of his passes for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with just four interceptions as the Wolverines went 15-0 and won the national title.
But we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks win national titles only to flop in the NFL.
Will McCarthy be worthy of his draft position, or will he wind up being a reach?