New England Patriots Schedule Pre-Draft Visit with Michigan's J.J. McCarthy

The New England Patriots continue to do their homework on the top quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft. They have now scheduled a visit with Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) gestures to / Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The last time the New England Patriots selected a quarterback out of Michigan, he became the greatest player ever to play the position. With that potentially in mind, could the Patriots be setting themselves up to go back to that Wolverine bloodline to select their next franchise quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft? 

At the very least, the Patriots are doing their homework as they should before the draft. According to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Patriots have scheduled a pre-draft visit with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. 

The national championship-winning McCarthy joins a growing list of quarterbacks who are or have been hosted in Foxboro for top-30 visits thus far. UNC’s Drake Maye visited with the Patriots on Friday, while LSU’s Jayden Daniels is set to make his trip on Monday, beginning with dinner, according to Breer. 

With McCarthy now scheduled, the Patriots will have met with the consensus top-three signal-callers outside of Caleb Williams, who is seemingly all but the Chicago Bears' next quarterback. 

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) gestures to / Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

While the visit shouldn’t be a surprise, as it is merely the Patriots doing their due diligence with the top prospects, it comes after a recent report stated that new de facto general manager Eliot Wolf is “pushing hard” for the Wolverines quarterback to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Tom Brady by moving from Ann Arbor to Foxboro. 

“I’m not big on McCarthy being a top-10 selection, but the UM signal caller to New England was the buzz on the pro-day circuit,” Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline recently wrote of New England’s interest in McCarthy. “De facto general manager Eliot Wolf is pushing hard for McCarthy, and he believes he has as much upside as any quarterback in this draft.”

However, even with the mention of Wolf reportedly liking McCarthy, he still trails behind Maye and Daniels in the eyes of oddsmakers, as DraftKings has the Michigan product at +330 odds to become the No. 3 pick. 

On paper, McCarthy’s 27-1 record as a starter, along with his 44 career touchdowns to just nine interceptions, is seemingly enough to sell a franchise on making him their next quarterback. Yet, even after two full seasons as the Wolverines' starter, there are questions with McCarthy. 

While he led Michigan to a national championship this past season and 27 wins over two seasons, his role within the offense has been best described as an “efficient conductor.” He played in a hard-nosed offense predicated on bullying its opponents at the line of scrimmage with a physical run game.

This offense, which some would call old-school, meant that McCarthy was never consistently asked to put the team on his back and make the difficult throws like some of his other counterparts. However, that isn’t to say that McCarthy doesn’t possess the traits that make for an NFL quarterback. 

“No, the Michigan offense didn’t regularly lean on McCarthy to push the ball downfield with his arm. But McCarthy executed when his team needed a play, which often came on third or fourth down,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler writes of McCarthy in his big board. “He has the arm and athletic talent that will translate well to the pro game, and his intangibles are off the charts.”

While he may not bring the flash of the dual-threat Daniels or even the highlight off-platform throws of Maye, McCarthy is certainly in the conversation for the Patriots as they count down the days until they are on the clock with the No. 3 pick.