J.J. McCarthy's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning recently talked with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and said the Broncos are interested in him with the 2024 NFL draft beginning on Thursday night. "I know Denver is very interested in him and it sounded like a place he'd love to come to but it's a little bit out of his control," Manning told Denver Sports over the air. McCarthy played in a pro-style offense at Michigan and led the Wolverines to the national championship earlier this year. He wasn't allowed to throw the ball that much in college, but he really impressed at his pro day and has been rising up draft boards ever since. McCarthy is a candidate to go in the first five picks on Thursday night, although it seems unlikely that Denver has the ammunition to pull off a trade up into the top five this year to select McCarthy, especially after trading for Zach Wilson on Tuesday.

The New England Patriots had dinner with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Sunday night and are hosting him on a visit on Monday in Foxborough, according to a source. The Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick and previously hosted North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. It's no surprise that the Pats are doing their due diligence on this year's top quarterbacks not named Caleb Williams, who is expected to be taken first overall by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy's draft stock has soared since his impressive pro day, and it seems more likely that he'll now be taken within the top-10 selections later this month. New England continues to try and figure out the QB position since Tom Brady left, as the Mac Jones experiment clearly didn't work out. The Patriots traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.

With quarterback Kirk Cousins now with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell needs a new QB to utilize a talented group of receivers, and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman is hearing the Vikes are very interested in Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, who went 27-1 as the Wolverines starter and led the team to the national title last year. Feldman is even suggesting the Vikings could trade all the way up to No. 4 overall with the Arizona Cardinals to take McCarthy in this year's NFL draft. The 21-year-old didn't put up the gaudy stats that the high-end names in this year's draft did, but he has honed pro-style footwork and threw 44 touchdowns to only nine picks in two seasons as the starter. McCarthy can also run, going for nine TDs and more than 500 yards on the ground. Landing in Minnesota would probably give him the most short- and long-term fantasy upside.

The Washington Commanders could be leaning toward selecting former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, according to conversations NFL insider Tom Pelissero has had with executives around the league at the NFL's league meetings. North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels have seemingly been competing to be the next quarterback off the board after USC's Caleb Williams, but McCarthy has been getting more hype as the pre-draft process has gone on. All that said, there is no shortage of examples of quarterbacks being pushed up by the media, only to fall in the real NFL Draft. Last year, Will Levis was projected to be picked as high as No. 2 overall, and he ultimately fell to the Tennessee Titans at pick 33. McCarthy is seemingly a lock to be selected in the first round of next month's draft, but it would still be somewhat of a surprise if he overtakes both Maye and Daniels in draft position.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy visited with the New York Giants last week, which included dinner with the front office and a tour of the team's facilities, according to sources. The Washington Commanders will fly out to Ann Arbor to have dinner with McCarthy on Thursday night, the night before his pro day workout, according to multiple sources. Although it would be a big surprise if the Commanders took McCarthy with the second overall pick in this year's NFL draft, they are doing their due diligence on him anyway. The Giants could be right in the wheelhouse at No. 6 overall to take McCarthy as the heir apparent for the struggling Daniel Jones, while the Minnesota Vikings (No. 11), Denver Broncos (No. 12) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) are all candidates to trade into the top-10 picks to take McCarthy next month.