University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has gained a lot of steam and has risen up many draft boards as the NFL Draft approaches, but former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson isn’t buying the hype.
On a recent episode of FS1’s Undisputed, Johnson questions all of the positivity surrounding McCarthy and does not think he should be considered one of the top three quarterback prospects in this draft class.
Johnson says that if McCarthy ends up being the No. 3 overall pick, that is almost like saying he is essentially on the same level as USC’s Caleb Williams, who is expected to go No. 1 to the Chicago Bears. He also does not think McCarthy is close to LSU’s Jayden Daniels and also says that even if Williams and Daniels weren’t in this draft class, McCarthy shouldn’t be the top signal-caller selected.
That is definitely a sound argument, seeing as how North Carolina’s Drake Maye is considered by some to be the second-best quarterback of the group.
McCarthy won a national championship during his final season at Michigan this past year, but Johnson says that outside of that, there isn’t much to like about McCarthy.
The 21-year-old threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 72.3 percent of his passes in 2023, so his numbers certainly weren’t impressive. That is especially the case when you stack McCarthy’s statistics up against guys like Williams, Daniels and Maye. You can throw Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. in there, as well.
A couple of months ago, no one was really thinking about McCarthy as one of the draft’s top three quarterbacks, but lately, his name has been gaining traction, and rumor has it that the New England Patriots really like him at No. 3.
Either Daniels or Maye will be on the board when the Patriots pick. If they end up rolling with J.J. McCarthy over whoever is left of Daniels and Maye, they will absolutely hear some stout criticism.
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