JJ McCarthy NFL Draft: Will Michigan Football Lose Its Star QB?

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JJ McCarthy’s NFL Draft scouting report should be a hot topic for Michigan football.

While this game may well be his last of the year, JJ McCarthy’s NFL Draft scouting report is largely a work in progress, even though he’s considered a first-round NFL prospect. It’s been a strange season for the Michigan quarterback, which makes sense since it’s been a generally strange season for Michigan football as a whole. McCarthy’s strong start was overshadowed by the Wolverines’ signal-stealing scandal, and he hasn’t been as sharp in the final weeks of the season. But then again, he’s faced some of the toughest defenses in the country in the final weeks of Michigan’s season.

For analyst Kirk Herbstreit, the question of JJ McCarthy’s stock for the NFL draft has too many gaps.

“I think he’s still a quarterback who could benefit from another year of college football. He could be a first-round NFL pick if he leaves, but it’s not a first-round pick question for me at that position,” Herbstreit said, according to the Maize and Brew blog. “If you look at quarterbacks who have recently come into the NFL and have done pretty well pretty quickly, I always look at the reps.

“When I watch these NFL games on Thursdays, when I watch a quarterback, especially a young player, how many years has he played? How many reps has he had as a passer and as a starter? I think JJ has been through so much, but I think another year allows him to be almost a turnkey quarterback that you have prepared.”

JJ McCarthy’s NFL scouting report: Incomplete

McCarthy was brilliant in the first nine games of the season for Michigan football, throwing 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions (all in the win over Bowling Green). He threw for 237 yards per game in those nine outings. But look at the numbers since then: 124 yards per game and just one touchdown pass. He’s not the same.

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper agrees with Herbstreit on his scouting report for JJ McCarthy in the NFL Draft. Kiper said there are too many unknowns about McCarthy.

“(An interesting wild card at quarterback) is JJ McCarthy from Michigan, who was one of the toughest evaluations in this entire class,” Kiper said. “He has the tools to be a No. 3 QB, but he just didn’t impress me late in the game. Where were the ‘wow’ throws? I didn’t see much improvement from him. Sure, he only had four interceptions, but three of them came against … Bowling Green?

“Plus, he hasn’t been asked to beat teams with his arm, partly because the Wolverines have crushed every opponent through November. McCarthy is clearly a huge talent, but not every NFL team is going to be in love with him, which means he could fall to Day 2. I view him as my No. 7 QB right now.”

Is Michigan Football Hiding McCarthy’s Talent?

But one scout said the problem with any JJ McCarthy-NFL recruiting report is that it’s likely to be incomplete. He just didn’t throw many passes in a conservative UM offense.

That should change, however, if McCarthy adds his name to the NFL draft list. Further investigation into McCarthy will reveal his talent. It would be a blow to Michigan football, of course, but a first-round finish would give McCarthy more room to maneuver in the NFL.

“I think a lot of people haven’t done a deep dive on McCarthy yet,” one scout who covers the Michigan area said, via ESPN. “But when they do, he’s going to elevate. He would dominate an event like the Senior Bowl.”

“To me, he’s an athletic Kirk Cousins,” the Michigan-area recruiter said.

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports journalist who covers the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has been writing for Heavy since 2019 and has over two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for The Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley Becomes Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” Learn more about Sean Deveney