NFL insider reveals 'interesting nugget' about J.J. McCarthy's draft stock in relation to Drake Maye

J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye — Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Who’s the better prospect, J.J. McCarthy or Drake Maye? Leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, that question has been much more popular than many expected.

While Caleb Williams has long been the projected No. 1 overall pick, Maye has most often been linked right behind the USC QB as the widely projected No. 2 overall pick, but that may be changing.

Jayden Daniels is surely in the mix as well. The Heisman winner deserves to be in the conversation as the second-best quarterback prospect in the 2024 draft class, but McCarthy’s stock continues to soar too.

Is J.J. McCarthy passing Drake Maye on NFL Draft boards?

According to ESPN’s NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller, now J.J. McCarthy is graded higher on some teams’ big boards than Drake Maye is.

“One of the most interesting nuggets I’ve picked up over the past two weeks is that multiple NFL teams have McCarthy ranked ahead of North Carolina’s Drake Maye. A high-ranking evaluator I spoke to this week said McCarthy’s winning résumé, upside as a mobile QB and impeccable poise under pressure all graded out higher for them than Maye. When under pressure last season, McCarthy completed an FBS-best 68% of his passes and averaged 10 yards per attempt (second-best).”
ESPN’s Matt Miller on J.J. McCarthy being ranked higher than Drake Maye

Even if McCarthy is held in a higher regard than Maye by some teams, all it takes is one franchise to fall in love with the North Carolina QB prospect to prevent any sort of draft day slide. It’s only natural for some players to be ranked higher than others, depending on the team. This is why we often see ‘surprise’ picks early on draft day, in addition to seeing prospects fall much further than the public eye expects. The reality is no one knows what all 32 NFL teams’ draft boards look like

Recent NFL Draft rumors have suggested we could see as many as five quarterbacks selected in the first round, with Michael Penix Jr. coming on strong as of late. But if Miller’s reports are accurate, we could see another surprise, in the form of McCarthy being drafted higher than Maye, yet again, it all depends on how each individual team views the top four QB prospects.