J.J. McCarthy is officially heading to Minnesota. McCarthy was perhaps the most interesting player to follow in this year’s 2024 NFL Draft because nobody knew exactly where he was gonna end up. Unlike other players such as Caleb Williams, drake me, or Jayden Daniels, nobody was sure whether McCarthy was gonna be a top five pic, or perhaps he could be this year’s version of lettuce who ended up falling all the way to the second round last year’s draft.
Well it’s certainly not surprising that he picked him up, again, he was certainly one of the most watched players to see where he would end up any NFL Draft which team would pick him up. While they are still over six rounds of the draft left, it is unlikely that we will see another player that will gain as much interest as what McCarthy got coming into the draft.
J.J. McCarthy is a Mystery Card
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why McCarthy was such a big mystery card, is that despite his winning, his obvious love for the game, and his success in college, when it comes to intangibles he doesn’t exactly fit the NFL mold. Additionally, at Michigan there were times when he wasn’t really asked to do all that much. Granted, to win a national championship you have to have an elite quarterback, which McCarthy was, however again with the help of players like Blake Corum there wasn’t always a ton of pressure for McCarthy to deliver big plays in the games.
For example against Penn State last year, McCarthy only had to throw the ball eight times, and in the national championship game, he only had to throw 18 times. In both of those games he was affected, but again when looking at some of the other big prospects who averaged well over 300 yards per game, it’s tough to get a good read on where McCarthy actually ranks.
J.J. McCarty’s NFL Draft Stock Rose Significantly
Despite winning the College Football National Championship, J.J. McCarthy was viewed as primarily a late first round kind of quarterback. Maybe he saw his value primarily and his grit and ability to find ways to win, as opposed to statistics, intangibles, or big play abilities. In other words he was a game manager, and for some teams looking for a game changer, McCarthy may not have been the best fit.
However, as the NFL Combine came around, and individual workouts and videos came out, McCarthy’s stock began to rise significantly at the point of some projecting him to be up to the second overall pick. Many believed he would at least be a top five pick, but teams decided to go after the receivers instead. Either way, he certainly did improve his stock by participating in the NFL combine whereas other quarterbacks decided to opt out of it.
Will He Be A Good Fit?
It’s almost impossible to project whether or not a quarterback will end up being successful in a team’s system perfectly or not. However, looking at McCarthys play style, his abilities, and tendencies it isn’t crazy to think that this may actually end up being a perfect fit with the Vikings.
Think of it sort of like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Tom Brady crazy as it may seem, may not have actually been a super successful quarterback had he been drafted by a team who was looking for a mobile quarterback or a quarterback who does well outside of the pocket. However since he was drafted by the Patriots in a scheme where he was able to sit back in the pocket and make multiple reads, he ended up becoming the greatest quarterback of all time.
I am not saying that J.J. McCarthy will be the next Tom Brady, however when looking at his play style and the kind of play style that this team runs, it isn’t too difficult to see a scenario where he ends up thriving and becoming a franchise NFL starting quarterback in Minnesota.