J.J. McCarthy or Drake Maye? It’s a question many quarterback-needy teams will need to answer leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.
For pretty much the better part of the past calendar year, Maye has been considered QB2 in the draft class behind former Heisman winner Caleb Williams of USC.
After a down final season at North Carolina, it still seemed like Maye was locked in as the second quarterback in the draft class. Heck, McCarthy leading Michigan to an undefeated season and the national championship didn’t seem to change this.
Then, the pre-draft process started. McCarthy began to pick up steam as a potential top-10 pick. Maye remained stagnant. The NFL Scouting Combine continued this narrative.
Now with roughly seven weeks to go before the draft, we’re hearing some more on this. It’s pretty stunning stuff.
Related: Updated 2024 NFL mock draft
Has J.J. McCarthy overtaken Drake Maye leading up to the NFL Draft?
Longtime ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper noted on Friday that McCarthy could in fact go higher than Maye once the annual event gets going. This information is coming from people around the league.
Ever since the 2024 NFL Draft order was set, most figured that Maye would go No. 2 to the Washington Commanders after the Chicago Bears nab the aforementioned Williams at one. From there, the New England Patriots would go with reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels at three.
Daniels is also a true wildcard here in that he could very well be QB2 for many teams. This could create a hectic top of the draft as things unfold.
As for Kiper, this is how his QB board has looked since the start of the process.
- Caleb Williams
- Jayden Daniels
- J.J. McCarthy
- Drake Maye
If you look at the top-10 picks in the draft right now, it’s not hard to envision quarterbacks making up four of those selections. The Arizona Cardinals (No. 4) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 5) don’t need signal callers. But one of the two could very well trade down.
Related: 2024 NFL Draft quarterback rankings
That’s magnified with the New York Giants (No. 6), Tennessee Titans (No. 7), Atlanta Falcons (No. 8), Minnesota Vikings (No. 11), Denver Broncos (No. 12) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) all in need of a franchise quarterback.
Stay tuned.