Raiders 2024 NFL Draft: Where do the top QBs rank?

6. J.J. McCarthy (Michigan)

After winning the national championship with the Michigan Wolverines just a few months ago, J.J. McCarthy was christened as the greatest quarterback in school history by former head coach Jim Harbaugh before declaring for the NFL Draft. 

The 2024 season was a strange one for McCarthy who spent much of his time handing the ball off to a talented group of running backs as the Wolverines seemingly rolled over each of their opponents. This led to games such as Penn State where he threw the ball just eight times, none of which came in the second half, and Bowling Green where he threw it 13 times, three of which were intercepted. 

This begs the question? How much did his own team and coaching staff truly trust him? Harbaugh can say he’s the best quarterback in the draft all he wants but the film and boxscore show a team who was eager to take the ball out of his hands in the biggest situations. 

His knack for abandoning clean pockets shows up often and leads to unnecessary sacks as well. While he is at times an accurate thrower, his overall ball placement leaves much to be desired. 

Still, the reasons for optimism are clear. McCarthy has received glowing reviews for his leadership ability from both players and teammates as they appear to genuinely enjoy competing with him. He is a downright incredible passer on the move and is a good athlete overall. 

As he moves to the NFL, he will face an uphill battle to become a long-term starter and will need to be placed in good infrastructure to succeed early on as he attempts to adapt to NFL speed and concepts. If given time, he can become a quality starter similar to Brock Purdy but a true game changer does not appear to be his future.

Grade: Third Round.