Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy is arguably the hottest prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft class at the moment. McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines are fresh off of a National Championship victory, and he's been riding that momentum to a potential top-10 NFL Draft status when all is said and done. And if the latest rumors are true, maybe top two NFL Draft status...
hm? pic.twitter.com/Ms8YJM3JrD
— Luke Braun (temporary college basketball fan) (@LukeBraunNFL) March 25, 2024
There are a lot of teams that need a quarterback in this year's draft, and the more this crop of players at QB has been dissected, the more it seems people and teams like a lot of different guys.
But the more time has passed since the college football season ended, it's hard to think of a single player who has been winning people over more than JJ McCarthy. There are still some who have concerns about whether or not McCarthy can be a viable franchise QB option considering he didn't throw a high volume of passes at Michigan and was not asked to necessarily "carry" the team. But Jim Harbaugh has been effusive in his praise of McCarthy, labeling him the best QB in this draft class.
If the Washington Commanders are truly falling in love with McCarthy over others at the position, it could leave a number of other teams around the league fuming. Let's look at a handful of them.
1. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings may not be too upset about missing out on McCarthy, but they've been one of the teams connected to him basically since the beginning of draft season. There have been plenty of other rumors connecting the Vikings to Drake Maye as well with Josh McCown on Kevin O'Connell's staff. McCown was a high school coach of Maye's a few years back.
Still, you can't help but wonder how much the Vikings may have had their hearts set on McCarthy. They seem to be preparing for a trade up the draft board with their acquisition of the Texans' first-round pick in 2024. They now hold the 11th and 23rd overall picks in this class and may have been poised to trade up for McCarthy.
If these rumors are true, the Vikings had better hope the New England Patriots don't love Drake Maye so they can possibly still swoop in and take the next QB on their board.