The 2024 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the JJ McCarthy 2024 NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Quarterback
School: Michigan
Size: 6-foot-3, 202 pounds
Class: Junior
2023 stats: 2,991 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 72.3 percent completion, 202 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns
McCarthy spent three years at Michigan and finished with a National Championship. Now he is in the 2024 NFL Draft.
As a four-star recruit in the class of 2021, McCarthy signed on with Michigan. He played sparingly as a freshman, as the team won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff. McCarthy won a quarterback battle that extended into the regular season during his sophomore year. He passed for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions on 64.6 percent completion. McCarthy helped the Wolverines win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff. In 2023, McCarthy returned as the starter passing for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions on 72.3 percent completion. He helped lead Michigan to a perfect record and a National Championship.
Following the National Championship Game, McCarthy declared for the NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be drafted in the first two rounds.
McCarthy has solid accuracy, specifically in the short and intermediate parts of the field. On shorter throws, he gets the ball out quickly and puts it on target, which allows receivers to run after the catch. He can layer throws between zone coverage on the intermediate part of the field. His accuracy on short throws could help him fit in with many systems in the NFL.
He has solid athletic ability, which allows him to do a few things not all quarterbacks can do. Michigan’s offense ran better when they utilized McCarthy’s legs as a runner. He uses his legs to evade pressure. McCarthy can make things happen out of structure, which often creates big plays down the field.
While he doesn’t often have to go through multiple progressions, McCarthy has shown he can do so in a limited capacity. If he doesn’t throw to his first read, he can get through his progressions decently quickly. While he isn’t consistently going through progressions every throw, he can continue to develop in this area.
McCarthy has a decent arm, but it is not on par with other draft prospects who are possibly getting selected early in the NFL Draft. He can push the ball downfield, but the ball can tend to hang in the air a bit. McCarthy can get some velocity on his throws, but there will be tight windows that he doesn’t have the velocity to hit.
Forcing throws is something McCarthy has done in a lot of different circumstances. There are times when he sees what is in front of him and decides to try to fit the ball in tight windows that aren’t there. Other times he can predetermine where he is going to throw the ball and can put the ball in harm’s way because of it.
There weren’t many times when McCarthy was asked to throw the ball a lot. He wasn’t asked to make many key throws to win games for Michigan, which is a credit to how talented the Wolverines were over the last few seasons. He will be a tough evaluation simply because he doesn’t have as many throwing reps as some of the other prospects in the class.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick
Draft Grade: Second Round Pick
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