Michigan football broke the record by sending the most player to the NFL scouting combine which will start next week in Indianapolis. Of course, that will be an opportunity to make strong impressions that weren’t already made on the field.
The problem with the Wolverines’ national championship is that they were so complementary — offense to defense, as well as positionally within each unit. The pass game didn’t need to go crazy because the run game was efficient. The run game didn’t have to fully take over because the pass game was capable of stretching the field. The defense was elite at every level. It was a complete team, but to some degree, players who could have shined elsewhere without so much talent around them instead faded into the background a little.
With the combine approaching, NFL.com put together a list of who could make the biggest moves in the pre-draft process at each different position. Unsurprisingly, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy got the nod at signal caller.
If quarterbacks are judged by their wins, McCarthy should move to the front of the line, thanks to his nearly perfect résumé as the leader of the Wolverines. The 6-foot-3, 202-pounder finished his career with a 27-1 record and a national title while managing an offense that featured a smash-mouth running game. Though he routinely played a complementary role, McCarthy flashes intriguing skills as a dual-threat playmaker with A-plus arm talent and evolving pocket-passing skills. The junior standout can make every throw in the book, but he needs more opportunities to show evaluators that he is deadly accurate and consistent with his ball placement. He’s currently ranked No. 5 among QBs on my list of the top five prospects by position. Given his limited experience (28 career starts) and managerial approach with the Wolverines, McCarthy’s stock will rise or fall based on his chalk-talk sessions and workouts leading up to the draft.
McCarthy has been the talk of draft social media in recent weeks as he went from a potential day two pick to a likely top 10 selection with all of the buzz surrounding him. What many fail to understand is that McCarthy rarely played in the second half of many games this past season as the Wolverines already had blowout wins essentially wrapped up by halftime. Though there were some where he was required to play the full game (starting with Penn State forward in the season), the run game carried the team at times, while the pass game did at other times.
Once McCarthy gets the opportunity to showcase his athleticism, his ball skills, and his intelligence of the game, there’s no telling just how high he can climb in this draft.