Mel Kiper Jr.: JJ McCarthy Draft Stock Rising BY ERIC RUTTER SPORTS ILLUSTRATED MICHIGAN WOLVERINES NEWS, ANALYSIS AND MORE UPDATED MARCH 08, 2024 5:33 PM Earlier today, ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest Big Board ahead of April’s draft, and the longtime pundit tabbed former Michigan QB JJ McCarthy as a top-20 prospect. Kiper’s Big Board does not necessarily predict McCarthy to be selected with the 20th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Rather, the Big Board is a ranking system that indicates which prospects exude the most pro-ready qualities. With that understanding, Kiper sees the 6-2, 219-pound former Wolverines as a rising prospect, previously slotting McCarthy at No. 23 in a prior Big Board. Here is what Kiper had to say about the strong-armed one-time Michigan signal-caller: McCarthy has first-round arm talent and can beat defenses with his legs too. He ranked third in the country in Total QBR (89.2) and completion percentage (72.3%) in 2023. Since he took over as the Wolverines’ starter in 2022, he threw 44 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Five of those INTs have come in two games, however; he threw three against Bowling Green earlier in 2023, and he had two pick-sixes in the College Football semifinal loss to TCU in 2022. Outside of those two games, he has managed games effectively and made great decisions with the football.
recently projected McCarthy in the middle of Round 1 in my debut mock draft. Sure, he has averaged just 22.1 pass attempts per game in 2023 and only needed to complete 10 passes in the national title game, but his upside is immense. Further down the Big Board, Kiper listed the top 10 prospects at each position, featuring several former Michigan players in the process. Running back Blake Corum (4th), tight end AJ Barner (10th), guard Zac Zinter (2nd), center Drake Nugent (8th), defensive end Braiden McGregor (10th), defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (4th), off-ball linebacker Junior Colton (2nd) and cornerback Mike Sainristil (10t) all received favorable marks from Kiper ahead of April’s draft.
