ESPN Insider Reveals Biggest Unanswered J.J. McCarthy Question

A big question persists about J.J. McCarthy as he throws his hat into the NFL ring.

 

ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has busily been making the rounds to shed light on this year's quarterback class, a golden crop that will grab nearly all the headlines come April 25 in Detroit. It just so happens the Denver Broncos are on the hunt for a quarterback. 

During a visit with Seattle's Brock and Salk show, Miller touched on what might be impinging on Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy's overall draft value. McCarthy is a polarizing prospect, and while he went 27-1 at Michigan, questions abound on whether he has what it takes to carry an offense. 

“I think that’s the biggest question surrounding McCarthy,” Miller told the Seattle-based show. “And McCarthy, especially compared to the other five quarterbacks in this draft who have top two-round grades, is that with him, it’s that he wasn’t asked to do a lot, so it’s almost harder to evaluate him because it’s not, ‘Okay, he was asked to do this and failed.’ It was that he wasn’t asked to do a lot. The Penn State game, he doesn’t throw the ball the entire second half and they still win.”

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McCarthy's credentials speak volumes, and it makes the polarization seem rather amusing. Having just turned a tender 21 years of age, you might think McCarthy's youth might be factoring against his draft stock, but not in Miller's humble opinion.

“I think a lot of people look at him and maybe think he’s a little bit shorter than he is because he’s kind of almost like a squat build, but he’s 6 foot 3,” Miller explained. “He’s got an NFL build. So I think with McCarthy, you get excited about the upside, which is a dangerous word when we’re talking about quarterback prospects. I think you look at upside guys the last several years that haven’t panned out well, especially when they’ve been asked to play early.”

Despite the book on McCarthy right now, his strong arm, solid mobility, and high football IQ could still blaze a path into the upper reaches of the 2024 draft class. Miller feels that after the run on the top-six ranked quarterbacks is put to bed, the remaining passing talent has far too many question marks hanging over them to see them fly off the board.

“There’s a gigantic drop-off after that," Miller said. "So there are the six quarterbacks that we’re going to talk about a lot as top 40 to top 50 guys, and then there is a Grand Canyon-like gap to the next one, which is probably Michael Pratt from Tulane, probably Spencer Rattler from South Carolina. We’re talking about guys that I have rated outside the top 150 right now. And next week (at the Senior Bowl) is a big opportunity for them. They both played a ton of football, but this is not the year where you’re saying, ‘Okay, round two, we might be able to get a developmental guy. Maybe in round three, we can get a developmental guy.’ That really doesn’t exist this year. It’s almost feast or famine. So if you’re not investing a first- or really early second-round pick in a quarterback, there’s gonna be a pretty big drop off.”

McCarthy's approach to his craft suggests he'll be prepared to handle the pre-draft interview process and perhaps raise his draft roof considerably. Miller's colleague at ESPN, the legendary Mel Kiper Jr., has McCarthy going to the Seattle Seahawks with their No. 16 pick in his maiden mock draft of 2024.

If Sean Payton and the Broncos are indeed in pursuit of a youthful signal-caller, using the No. 12 overall selection on a quarterback could be the plan. As we inch closer to Draft Day, the risks of Denver reaching on a QB at No. 12 will become increasingly unlikely. 

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