Commanders Draft: Which QB Impressed Most at Combine?
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Washington Commanders are on to the next phase of the offseason after the NFL Scouting Combine concluded Sunday evening.
The most exciting day of any combine week is when quarterbacks put their arm talents on display for teams like the Commanders, and for the second straight year, in front of fans and attending media.
This year, many thought the largest scouting event of the year might lack a little sizzle because the top three quarterbacks chose not to throw, but that wasn't the case and a fourth quarterback may have forced his way into conversations happening around Washington because of it.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) lifts the Rose Bowl trophy to celebrate a 27-20 win over Alabama at the 2024 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
USA Today
"The guy that threw (Saturday) at the Combine was (Michigan quarterback) J.J. McCarthy and he's a guy that the more I watch him, the more I get it, the more I fall in love with his ability," Commanders team analyst Logan Paulsen said on the Locked On Commanders podcast. "He is tremendously talented as a thrower of the football. He didn't run a 40 yesterday, but when you watch the film, he's a very good athlete and I think when you watched him yesterday, he's throwing with (Oregon quarterback) Bo Nix, and Bo Nix has a very good arm, but - I don't want to say he blew bone Nicks out of the water - but his arm talent was significantly better."
Paulsen went on to say McCarthy is his fourth quarterback in this year's NFL Draft and with many expecting players from that group to go in each of the top three picks this April it's possible the National Championship-winning playmaker lands in the top 10.
Of course, the top 10 and No. 2 overall are quite different, but as the Commanders progress through free agency and into full draft preparation it's going to be hard to ignore the performance McCarthy put on at the combine this year.
That, coupled with the tape from leading the Michigan Wolverines to their first National Championship in the College Football Playoffs era, may make trading out of the No. 2 spot a little more attractive.
McCarthy admitted he was a bit nervous heading into his interview with the team in Indianapolis. But that doesn't mean it went poorly.
If it went anything like his day throwing did inside Lucas Oil Stadium then he should have himself locked inside the top four of every NFL team needing a quarterback, with the potential he could rise even further in the next seven weeks.
