As Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy endeavors to lead the Wolverines to their most memorable public title win starting around 1997, NFL evaluators anticipate that the lesser should settle on a choice in regards to his future before very long.
In front of Monday’s School Football Season finisher public title game between the highest level Wolverines and negative. 2 According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, NFL evaluators “are operating under the expectation” that McCarthy will declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, which was reported in Washington.
“The biggest on-field storyline for Michigan coming out of this game is going to be the future of J.J. McCarthy,” Thamel said. “He’s obviously 26-1 as a starter, and win or lose tonight, there’s a feeling that he may not be able to do much more at Michigan. NFL evaluators are operating under the expectation that McCarthy will come out. He’ll make the decision in the upcoming days.”
Following his stellar three-touchdown performance against Alabama in the Rose Bowl, McCarthy has risen to the No. 5 QB prospect and the 23rd-best player overall in ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.’s rankings.
“McCarthy has first-round arm talent and can beat defenses with his legs too,” Kiper wrote last week. “His completion percentage of 73.2% and total QBR of 89.5 place him third in the nation. Since he took over as the Wolverines’ starter last season, he has thrown 44 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Five of those INTs have come in two games, however … Outside of those two games, he has managed games effectively and made great decisions with the football.”
Entering Monday’s action, McCarthy had thrown for 2,851 yards with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions across 14 games while posting a completion rate of 73.2%. While his stats don’t jump off the stat sheet, McCarthy’s poise, high IQ, and arm talent more than compensate for it.
Given that McCarthy only attempted 22.4 passes per game on average this season, the term “game manager” may be applied to his style of play, but NFL teams will undoubtedly take his track record into account.
The 20-year-old notched a 26-1 record over his first 27 games as a starter and has drawn praise as the best quarterback in program history, not just from HC Jim Harbaugh but also Tom Brady.
Perhaps McCarthy’s draft stock will continue to soar to the point where he might be regarded as a surefire first-round pick if he adds a national championship to his résumé.
