Mel Kiper Jr. says a surprise quarterback may ‘overtake’ Drake Maye in NFL Draft.

admin | March 10, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

One of the most fascinating quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft may have his name called earlier than thought.

Though the consensus best quarterbacks in the 2024 class did not attend last week’s NFL combine — USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and LSU’s Jayden Daniels opted out of throwing drills and athletic testing — several other quarterbacks performed admirably at Lucas Oil Stadium.

After impressing those in attendance with his arm strength and pinpoint accuracy, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy is the latest signal-caller to rise up analyst draft rankings.

According to Mel Kiper Jr., he may have even done enough to usurp one of the top-tier quarterbacks.

“Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy is a battle,” Kiper said on ESPN’s “First Draft.” “I’m talking this morning to people before the show and all I hear is J.J. McCarthy.”

McCarthy is likely the most difficult quarterback to evaluate in the 2017 draft.

The 21-year-old is a proven winner, going 27-1 as Michigan’s starter and finishing his collegiate career with a 34-13 victory over Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship. However, the Wolverines’ offense rarely ran through him, instead depending primarily on the ground game. For comparison, McCarthy’s pass attempts in 2023 (332) are much fewer than Maye’s season total (425), while playing three more games.

While McCarthy has fewer throws and “wow” plays to judge him on, Kiper argues this could actually work in his favor.

“J.J. McCarthy is so smart, so tough, athletic,” Kiper continued. “He almost because of what he was protected in doing — because they didn’t let him carry the offense — has benefited from that because it adds some mystery to it. He’s kind of [an] old school quarterback, didn’t have to throw it 40-50 times.”

In his most recent Mock Draft 2.0, Kiper has the Patriots selecting Maye third overall and the Broncos selecting McCarthy 12th overall. Don’t be surprised if those places are swapped on draft night.

“Bottom line is J.J. McCarthy could overtake Drake Maye [in the NFL Draft],” he said.