Reporters comment on quarterback J.J. McCarthy's rising NFL Draft stock

Similar to those who previously coached against J.J. McCarthy, individuals who covered the Michigan Wolverines quarterback insist the unexpected rise of his draft stock following the 2023 college football season is deservedly legitimate. 

"He really does have a pretty special skillset, and he didn’t always get to show that at Michigan," The Athletic's Austin Meek recently told Sean T. McGuire of NESN about McCarthy. "He didn’t have to carry the offense, he just had to facilitate the offense. But when he needed to make plays, he had a handful of plays in his career that made you go, 'Wow, this guy really has something special.'" 

Certain scouts previously suggested McCarthy doesn't do anything "great" as it pertains to on-the-field performances. At that time, most analysts had McCarthy ranked fourth among quarterback prospects in this year's draft class beneath Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans, Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers and Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

Things have dramatically changed since the scouting combine and since signal-callers began meeting with teams. Multiple in-the-know individuals have made it known they now believe there's a real chance that the Washington Commanders will take McCarthy with the second pick of the 2024 draft on April 25. 

The Chicago Bears are expected to draft Williams first overall. 

"When they did throw the ball, it wasn’t always deep down the field," beat reporter Aaron McMann of MLive said about what McCarthy offered for a Michigan team that won the national title in January. "Sometimes it was check downs, sometimes it was slant routes over the middle. They weren’t deep shots. ... But the one thing about him is, when they did utilize his arm, he was as efficient as they get. If you look at the efficiency numbers — quarterback rating, etc. — they’re off the charts." 

In his final college campaign, McCarthy completed 72.3% of his 332 pass attempts for 2,991 yards with 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions. 

Meek added he "absolutely" always believed McCarthy could develop into a potential top-two draft pick even though the signal-caller wasn't asked to give Michigan so-called hero ball outings on a weekly basis. 

"I don’t think there’s a ceiling on what (McCarthy) can do just because of the offense he played in in college," Meek said. "I think it just means there is more unknown." 

If McCarthy gets to pick No. 3, the New England Patriots could use that asset to grab either the Michigan product or Maye. From there, it's thought a team such as the New York Giants or Minnesota Vikings could be willing to move up to the fourth pick for McCarthy depending on all that occurs on April 25.