Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy will have a huge decision to make once the 2023 football season is over. Will he enter the 2024 NFL draft, or will McCarthy stay in Ann Arbor for one last ride like Blake Corum and others did this season?
There are plenty of variables that might determine McCarthy’s decision. Does Michigan win the national championship? Do the Wolverines come up short and will that make McCarthy want to come back hungrier than ever? What happens with Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA case? Or is McCarthy just a kid who wants to cement a four-year legacy at Michigan and become a captain?
Those are all valid questions that we will eventually find the answer to.
But for argument’s sake, ESPN’s NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. and other draft analysts wrote an article on ESPN about the upcoming 2024 NFL draft.
It’s abundantly clear that USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye are the top two quarterbacks in the draft, but the QB3 spot is up for grabs. While draft experts, including Kiper, were sold on McCarthy as that No. 3 QB earlier in the year, it appears Kiper isn’t all so certain any longer.
Kiper called McCarthy the biggest wildcard in the upcoming draft if he decides to come out. While it’s obvious McCarthy has plenty of talent, Kiper has him as his QB No. 7 as of now.
McCarthy didn’t put up gaudy numbers during the regular season. He was 49th in the country throwing for 2,630 yards and tied for 51st in the nation throwing 19 touchdown passes.
But one thing about McCarthy is the fact he makes good decisions — only throwing four interceptions all year — and he’s extremely accurate. The junior finished the regular season second in the country completing 74.2% of his throws.
Two other reasons you don’t see McCarthy putting up huge numbers like LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Oregon’s Bo Nix, or Washington’s Michael Penix is because Michigan enjoys running the football and it doesn’t ask McCarthy to throw the ball more than necessary.
McCarthy threw the ball 287 times in 13 games this year which is tied for 76th in the nation. If you let him air the ball out 100 more times, his numbers would be much higher than they are, but the Wolverines don’t need him to do that. Plus, for the first half of the season, McCarthy only played the first half of the games and was on the bench in the third quarter for backups to play.
One thing is clear, McCarthy is better than QB. 7 and McCarthy has a chance to show that on the big stage in the College Football Playoff against Alabama.
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