ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. thinks J.J. McCarthy made right decision entering draft
Back in 2018, former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen shared how he evaluates whether or not he should advise a player to go to the NFL. In his eyes, if a player is going to be a first-through-third-round NFL draft pick, they should leave early; if they’re below that line, then they should come back for another year.
Coming off of a national championship win, Michigan football quarterback J.J. McCarthy decided to hang up his winged helmet despite having another year of eligibility and try his hand in the pro ranks. And according to ESPN’s resident NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., McCarthy his making the right choice — at least according to Mullen’s rubric.
Kiper released his updated 2024 NFL mock draft (subscription required), and he has McCarthy being selected midway through the first round in April.
16. Seattle Seahawks
J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
OK, here’s a spot for the next quarterback. While I don’t have a first-round grade on McCarthy right now — a lot can change before Round 1 on April 25 — he does have first-round arm talent, along with the ability to beat defenses with his legs. He’s the type of quarterback teams will take a shot at in the middle of the first round, especially when you consider he just turned 21 a few days ago. He rarely turns the ball over — he threw 44 touchdown passes and had nine picks over the past two seasons — and can make every throw. McCarthy just wasn’t asked to beat teams with his arm for the Wolverines, because they so often dominated at the line of scrimmage. As of now, I’m betting on a team seeing his upside and trying to take him somewhere in the teens.
Though many have knocked McCarthy because Michigan didn’t rely heavily on his arm talent, the talent is there, and the Wolverines did not need to throw all over the field as other teams did to win a championship.
We’ll see whether or not McCarthy will go high in the draft, but we’re betting that he’ll wow NFL scouts in interviews and in the combine in the next month.
