Former Michigan Wolverines star quarterback J.J. McCarthy continues to be the talk of the football world leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft next month.
McCarthy is coming off a final season with Michigan that saw him lead the program to the national championship. He entered the early portion of the pre-draft process as a potential second-round pick.
Since then, things have taken off. That includes impressing at the NFL Scouting Combine.
We now have more information on this. It’s a stunner. According to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, there is now a chance that McCarthy finds himself as a top-five pick. He met with the New York Giants earlier in March and will soon meet with the Washington Commanders.
“J.J. McCarthy’s stock has absolutely skyrocketed. He did very well for himself,” Schultz reported. “More importantly than his throwing was his ability to control the room. You put J.J. McCarthy in a room, and he comes to light. I think what teams saw was a bonafide leader.”
Related: Updated 2024 NFL mock draft
J.J. McCarthy as a potential top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft
There had been some talk that McCarthy has overtaken Drake Maye from North Carolina and reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels as QB2 behind USC’s Caleb Williams.
While that still seems to be somewhat of a stretch, there is a reason why McCarthy continues to pop up as one of the most impressive prospects leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Could McCarthy’s ascension actually lead to Washington passing up on Daniels for him at No. 2? We’ve seen stranger things happen.
- J.J. McCarthy stats (2023): 72.3% completion, 2,991 passing yards, 25 total TD, 4 INT
As for the Giants, there are continued rumors that they could very well look to find Daniel Jones’ future heir-apparent with the sixth pick in the NFL Draft.
Though, New York might actually have to move up from that selection in order to secure someone of McCarthy’s ilk.
The Bears (No. 1), Commanders (No. 2) and New England Patriots (No. 3) are all looking at going quarterback to open the annual event. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Arizona Cardinals (fourth) and Los Angeles Chargers (fifth) consider trade-down opportunities with quarterback-needy teams.