Michigan Football: How High Will JJ McCarthy be Drafted?

Why J.J. McCarthy is a top-10 pick

McCarthy is an A+ leader and locker room guy. He's the kind of personality you want to build around. He has all the intangibles you could ever ask for. On top of that, he has elite physical attributes as well. He can run, he can throw, and he may be the best in the draft class at throwing on the run. While McCarthy didn't get to fully showcase his talents at Michigan, we know the kind of talent he has. And he's about to put it all on display.

I believe that JJ McCarthy will be a top 10 pick. While he's on the border right now, I think he'll solidify himself through a great NFL combine. First, it's been said that McCarthy runs a 4.5 40 yard dash. That would sandwich him between Anthony Richardson and Cam Newton. And if you look back to last year, Richardson was selected #4 overall almost solely off of his physical traits. McCarthy is much more polished than Richardson as a prospect.

So we've established that McCarthy should excel at the drills. He should be amongst the top quarterbacks in just about everything. But the draft/combine isn't just about drills. It's about interviewing. I don't think there's anybody in the class that will be better than JJ when it comes to interviewing with teams.

We know how great of a leader, speaker, and teammate McCarthy is, and he's going to put that on full display when he's meeting with teams at the top of the draft order. If a GM is between two quarterbacks, say McCarthy and Drake Maye, it probably will come down to who will be the better culture guy. McCarthy is more than likely going to win that battle over everybody else.

Lastly, JJ is just a winner. As the starter in Ann Arbor, McCarthy finished with a 27-1 record. The third best winning percentage in NCAA history by a quarterback. That's something that nobody else in this draft class can say. And it's definitely going to give JJ a boost. Let's look at some possible landing spots for McCarthy now.