Could J.J. McCarthy go No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft?

Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Could J.J. McCarthy go No. 2 overall? One draft analyst believes it could happen

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/29/24

Perhaps no player has seen his draft stock rise more from the end of the college football season to present day than Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The 21-year-old QB began the new year as a fringe first-round pick but shot up draft boards to a mid-first-round selection after the Wolverines won their first national championship in two-and-a-half decades.

Just last week, McCarthy rose from top-10 lock to fringe top-five selection, and now, there are some, including NFL.com draft analyst Eric Edholm, who believe the 6-foot-3 signal-caller could go as high as No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.

“A week ago, I went on D.C. radio and relayed how people around the league (not affiliated with the Commanders) thought Jayden Daniels might have a better shot of being the second pick than Drake Maye,” Edholm wrote in his latest mock draft. “Now I am pivoting again. The groundswell of McCarthy-to-Washington rumors has only grown in recent days. It won't surprise me if J.J. ends up being the culture changer GM Adam Peters is seeking.”

Are you buying into the buzz about JJ McCarthy rising in the NFL Draft?

"The great unknown about him makes him such an intriguing prospect." @CourtneyRCronin pic.twitter.com/nsuITEZEyG
— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) March 27, 2024

It's expected the Commanders, who traded 2023 starter Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks and have just two QBs under contract (Marcus Mariota and Jake Fromm), will take a quarterback with their No. 2 overall pick.

When the draft process began at the end of January, many expected North Carolina’s Drake Maye to be a lock for Washington if it missed out on USC’s Caleb Williams, who is expected to go first overall to the Chicago Bears.

Then, LSU’s Jayden Daniels surpassed Maye as he began to tumble down many experts’ draft rankings. Now, McCarthy may just be the new betting favorite for the Washington pick.

While Williams, Maye and Daniels all have bigger arms and their own respective attributes that may put them ahead of McCarthy on some draft boards, the Michigan QB is a proven winner.

He went 27-1 as the Wolverines starter, passing for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading Michigan to three straight Big Ten championships, consecutive College Football Playoff berths and a national title.

For a team like the Commanders essentially starting over and rebuilding from the ground up, having a winner like McCarthy leading that rebuild might certainly be appealing.

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