Mel Kiper Jr. grades Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy as the…

Mel Kiper Jr. grades Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy as the draft’s No. 4 quarterback.

According to pundits such as Mel Kiper Jr., the former Michigan starting quarterback will be a first-round choice in the 2024 NFL Draft.

J.J. McCarthy had an excellent career at Michigan football, going 27-1 as a starter. He not only led the Wolverines to a national championship, but he also played on three Big Ten championship teams and won three games against Ohio State.

McCarthy will forever be remembered as a Michigan football icon. As Jim Harbaugh stated, he is the best Michigan quarterback (in college) of all time. That is not really up for argument.

However, there has been some disagreement about J.J. McCarthy’s NFL draft stock. He is almost certainly going to be drafted in the first round. On the “First Draft” podcast with Field Yates, Mel Kiper Jr. discussed the former Michigan football starter’s position in the 2024 quarterback class.

“When you think about where we are today with J.J.? “I believe he is quarterback four,” stated Kiper Jr. “I believe he is QB No. 4. “He is ahead of Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix.”

Kiper predicted McCarthy would be taken by the Denver Broncos, who hold the 12th overall pick in the April draft. But McCarthy’s tenure on the board is unlikely to last that long. Every team in the top three of the NFL draft requires a quarterback, unless the Bears elect to keep Justin Fields.

It’s possible that one of those clubs will pass on a quarterback, but the Falcons, Jets, and Vikings all need quarterbacks, and even if Minnesota re-signs Kirk Cousins, you have to invest in the future, and McCarthy, at 21, has a lot of upside.

If McCarthy had returned to Michigan football, he could have been the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, therefore I still believe he ends up in the top ten.