There was a wave of hyperbole and anticipation about J.J. McCarthy and his turn at the NFL scouting combine entering the weekend. And while McCarthy had a solid showing — particularly on the three-cone drill — and showcased his velocity and ability to throw, the consensus departing Indianapolis was that his draft stock was status quo.
Yet, the mock drafts emerging in the aftermath suggest otherwise.
CBS Sports put out two separate mock drafts on Tuesday. Both have McCarthy surging into the top five. First came one from Ryan Wilson, who has McCarthy going at No. 3 to the New England Patriots, behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels but ahead of star OSU wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.
J.J. McCarthy might be one of the most polarizing players in this class, and I’ll admit it, I was skeptical that he was worthy of a first-round pick. It’s not because he isn’t talented (his athleticism and arm strength are impressive), but because he wasn’t asked to do a lot in Michigan’s offense. But go back and watch his throws on third down and 6 to 10 yards to go: he completed 73% of his attempts — many of them NFL throws — with 5 touchdowns and no turnovers. We also talked to him at the combine and the charisma and leadership just ooze off him. And I get it, you might think that we got caught up in the moment, but I’ll just say this: last year when we spoke to C.J. Stroud at the combine, those very same qualities were blindingly obvious in person, and it certainly didn’t hurt his cause during a historic rookie season.
Will Brinson also put out a mock draft of his own on Tuesday, and he has McCarthy going one spot lower at No. 4 to the New York Giants. In this scenario, he’d go behind Williams, Drake Maye, and Harrison.
The Giants move up to grab a quarterback, a leader type who can step in and take over for Daniel Jones. This franchise needs a reboot at QB, and McCarthy can handle the pressure that comes with being the quarterback in New York.
Given Louis Riddick’s comments before McCarthy got involved in what drills he participated in at the combine, where he said that NFL scouts see the former Michigan quarterback as a top five pick, it appears that the draft prognosticators got the message.
There’s still a long way to go until the draft, but McCarthy will have one more opportunity to wow NFL personnel when he partakes in Michigan’s pro day on March 22.