J.J. McCarthy is a top-10 pick in the latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft
By Trent Knoop Sports Illustrated Michigan
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has a million or multi-million dollar decision to make once the college football season ends. Will he stay in Ann Arbor once last year or enter the 2024 NFL Draft?
Depending on which NFL draft expert you might listen to, they might have McCarthy as their No. 1 QB. 3 or QB no. 7 ahead of April. That could take him anywhere from the first half of the first round to the middle to late second round of the draft.
But if you look at Matt Miller’s most recent ESPN draft, McCarthy is a top-10 pick. Miller lets the Las Vegas Raiders take McCarthy with the No. 7 overall pick.
Could the Raiders team up with Aidan O’Connell in 2024? Sure, but all signs now point to them starting over at quarterback under a new regime, even after signing Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2023 offseason.
McCarthy is instinctive, efficient and effective as a second-effort creator outside of his own pocket.
Michigan’s plan doesn’t do him any favors in terms of statistics, but NFL scouts keep telling me that McCarthy will be drafted sooner than expected.
With Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and Quinn Ewers (Texas) expected to return to college for the 2024 season, McCarthy is the only first-round passer left on my plate.
And if things pan out this way, these would be the four fastest QBs off the board in the regular draft era (since 1967), according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Miller has Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels all ahead of McCarthy, but if the junior gets a top-10 grade, the NFL will be hard to turn down. However, there are many variables regarding the decision McCarthy will make.
How is Michigan doing this year in terms of PCP? What is Jim Harbaugh’s status and will the NCAA impose sanctions before McCarthy has to make a decision?
McCarthy seems like a guy who would like to end his Michigan career with a win, and if the Wolverines do that this year, he might see this as the right time.
But if Michigan fails, McCarthy can take one last try, become captain and cement his legacy as the best Michigan quarterback to ever play in Ann Arbor.
