New York Giants Draft Preview: QB J.J. McCarthy

Nick has the lowdown on the quarterback that many draft analysts believe is destined to be a Giant.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 10, 2024

In this story:

New York Giants

NFL Draft

J.J. McCarthy

J.J. McCarthy, QB

Height: 6’2 ½”
Weight: 219 lbs
Hands: 9”
Arms: 31 ⅝”
Wingspan: 75 ⅞”
Class: Junior
School: Michigan
STATS

MEASUREMENTS

3-Cone: 6.82
20-yd shuttle: 4.23

A former four-star recruit out of La Grange Park, Illinois, where he initially attended Nazareth Academy before transferring to the esteemed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as a senior in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of Nazareth’s football season. In two seasons starting at Nazareth, he led his team to a 26-2 record with two appearances in the IHSA Class 7A State Championship Game; he seized victory in his sophomore season. In his lone season at IMG Academy, he led his team to an 8-0 record and a consensus High School Football National Championship.

247 Sports ranked McCarthy the 38th-ranked recruit in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Other recruiting services rated him a five-star prospect. McCarthy’s first sport of choice was hockey. He also grew up an Ohio State fan. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day reportedly told McCarthy that the Buckeyes would not take a quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class until the end of the summer.

Day accepted a commitment from Kyle McCord in the spring, and McCarthy felt betrayed by that decision; he went on to commit to Michigan the next month and said, “(Ryan Day) lied to my face…I used to love them (Ohio State). Now I want to kill them.”

McCarthy went 2-0 as the starter against Ohio State after Michigan was 2-15 in the previous 17 matchups.

McCarthy beat out Cade McNamara for the starting role before the 2022 season. He earned Second-Team All-Big Ten that year. Michigan won the National Championship in 2023, with McCarthy earning the Rose Bowl Offensive MVP after he threw for 221 yards with three touchdowns against Alabama. He was First-Team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and he was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Manning Quarterback Awards.

He finished his time at Michigan with 28 starts in 40 games, ending his career 27-1 as a starter - the best winning percentage by any college quarterback since Toledo’s Chuck Ealy in 1971. In 2023, he set single-season program records for interception rate (1.20) and completion percentage (72.3) and finished second in pass efficiency (167.4) and touchdown passes (22). McCarthy skyrocketed his draft stock after an outstanding 2023 season. He has continued to rise up boards after reportedly interviewing well with NFL teams at the 2024 Scouting Combine. He’s smart, very athletic, and just turned 21 years old.

Strengths

* Solid height for the position - frame suggests he can add bulk
* Very good athlete quick accelerator with good agility
* Explosive mover with a fluid upper body to deliver catchable passes while on the move
* Coordinated athlete who delivers accurately on the run
* Defeated the angles of several safeties coming downhill - good speed
* Impressive command of offense, help set protections, calling out threats - coaching staff trusted him
* Operated a pro-style system at Michigan
* Keeps eyes downfield, smooth maneuver in the pocket with eyes downfield - aware player
* Will step up into the pocket to avoid high-side rushers and reset his feet with his eyes downfield
* Good sense of high-side rush; steps up and away from pressure
* Stronger in pocket than his frame would suggest
--Rutgers, Q3 1:29 3rd & 5, scramble for 5 yds
--Bowling Green, Q3 11:53, offensive holding
--Indiana Q2 00:52 1st & 10 16 yd pass
* Hits the back of his foot, and the ball is coming out of play action - decisive
* Collects information well upon his dropbacks - solid overall processor of information
* Decisively used eyes to manipulate defenders and attacked when an opening was presented
* Solid overall job staying in structure of the play under pressure
* Wide base thrower with exceptional footwork in the pocket
* Quickly orients body to target - well-timed fluid motion
* Good biomechanics of throwing - good weight transfer into his drive throws
* Throws well with anticipation on out and curl routes
* Uses anticipation and incredible velocity to attack tight windows over the MOF
* Good grip strength for a player with 8th percentile hands to tuck football down just before a poor decision
--Solid ability to secure the football from a disregarded throw - typically uses legs when he decides against a throw last second
* Makes off-platform throws, changes launch point on the move - can throw through confined spaces
* Very good on play action bootlegs
* Exceptional ability to extend plays and improvise
* Great job pressing LOS and finding an option last minute
--Drew coverage toward LOS, found target in void
* Points to assist receivers in maximizing separation when on the move on a broken play
--Indiana, Q3 3rd & 10 54 yd TD
--Minnesota Q1 8:07 7 yd reception on TE
* Overall accuracy can be inconsistent, but has precise ball placement from the far hash littered through his tape
* Fluid and swift off play action to locate his target and throw the football
* Well-timed seam ball with good placement
* Good placement on backside fades to his right
* Good arm strength to drive the throw from the far hash to the outside shoulder on comeback routes
* Good drive on his throw - has velocious zip
* Highlight-level strikes through congested traffic over the MOF
--UNLV Q2 4:30 earholed the LB
--Indiana Q2 13:49 LB just misses
--Alabama Q2 3rd & 9 tight man coverage on drag
--Ohio State Q2 10:29 tight window TD
* Not scared to thread a needle through tight coverage in the MOF
* Varies arm-angle on his passes - has creativity as a thrower on the move
* Solid job handling pressure and finding an answer
* Incredible poise and toughness
--Rutgers Q2 10:32 3rd & 6 - hit by unblocked blitz, complete for four yards
--Minnesota Q3 3:25 - 24 yd TD on pivot/wheel
--Penn State Q1 14:22 2nd & 10 11 yd catch
--Washington Q1 14:20 2nd & 6 8 yd checkdown
* Will make man-coverage defenses pay with legs if no spy is used
* Has won at every level of football - at two separate programs in high school
* Just turned 21 years old in January

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

* Thin frame - however, can still grow into his body (only 21 years old)
* Inaccurate ball placement
--Rutgers Q1 13:18 2nd & 5 behind on near-out; Q1 8:05 1st & 10 ahead on field-out; Q3 14:53 1st & 10 L field-out
--Bowling Green Q2 1:30 2nd & 7 ahead on wide open boundary 9
--Bowling Green tape is off; 50 yd TD should have probably been picked
--Poor decision-making INT Q3 1:00
--Indiana Q1 5:27 3rd & 7 seam thrown behind in tight coverage; Q2 4:13 overthrow on sluggo into EZ from 15 yd line
--Minnesota Q3 14:25 underthrown nine route; Q3 12:13 overthrow in flat
--Maryland Q2 00:26 from 7 yd line LB INT up seam; Q4 8:37 1st & 10, missed on deep post thrown behind
--Alabama Q2 11:15 2nd & 6 overthrow on field curl
--Iowa Q1 10:24 1st & 10 overthrow on deep cross/sit
--Ohio State Q1 13:53 1st & 10 skipped ball on out route
* Needs to be more consistent with his ball placement
* Noticeably more comfortable throwing to his right (isn’t inept throwing left)
* Needs to use more touch over the middle of the field to layer passes over LB
* Deep passing is inconsistent and lacks ideal trajectory - must be softer with some of his throws
* Throws the ball too much on a line when targeting deep - must put more touch/air under the football
* Too frequently has one-speed when throwing
* Overall arm talent (touch, trajectory, speed, etc.) needs to improve - must add more throws to his arsenal
* Will throw across his body when escaping the pocket (has enough zip to attempt this, but could lead to errors)
* Careless with the football on throw-away attempts
--This manifested vs. Bowling Green and Alabama

Summary

J.J. McCarthy experienced a massive jump in his play from the 2022 season, which helped the Michigan Wolverines win their 12th National Championship. McCarthy earned the trust of Michigan’s coaching staff and handled pro-styled concepts and presnap checks that suggest a wide mental bandwidth and a precocious ability to process the complexities of the quarterback position.

He’s mechanically sound in the pocket, with clean footwork on his dropback and the ability to operate a quick - rhythmic - passing attack successfully. McCarthy manages the pocket well, with a good sense of pressure and how/when to step up or evade. He also does a good job extending plays, keeping his eyes downfield, and setting an example of toughness and leadership that the rest of the Wolverines attempted to emulate throughout their championship campaign. He’s a wide-base thrower who gets good torque through his lower half into his throws. He also does well changing his arm slot when on the move, and he is creative as a playmaker and thrower when escaping the pocket.

The football fires out of McCarthy’s hand with extreme velocity; he clocked in with the second-fastest throw at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine - a speed of 61 MPH. That is no doubt impressive and was on full display in high-leverage situations throughout the season. However, McCarthy’s inability to develop a change-up or consistently alter the trajectory of certain passes remains a concern. He’s not an inaccurate quarterback, but his accuracy is inconsistent, and it can be erratic at times, albeit he’ll precisely rip far-hash throws to the sideline on the outside shoulder of WRs.

I have concerns over McCarthy’s deep passing ability. His 2023 49% completion rate beyond 20 yards isn’t tragically bad, but the blatant misses on deep passes are problematic; he needs to do a better job putting more air underneath the football to allow his WRs to run underneath certain passes. He is more comfortable throwing right, but I don’t believe he is terrible at throwing to the left (watch Purdue, 2023).

He flashes good anticipatory throwing over the middle of the field and on far-hash comeback/curl routes outside the numbers. It’s not consistently present, and he can be a bit late with the football at times, but overall, he sees the field well with good awareness and responds well to the defense’s intentions.

He is more than just a developmental quarterback prospect with enticing athletic traits; McCarthy has to improve his touch and deep ball accuracy to be successful in the NFL. He does not have top-15 arm talent but possesses a fastball that would strike Ken Griffey Jr. out in his prime. Can he develop the change-up or splitter? Can he improve his arm talent and deep accuracy? These are questions that every coach will ponder.

For now, he could operate well in the right system. Focusing on the Giants, Brian Daboll’s offense with Daniel Jones fits well with McCarthy’s skill set. However, the selection of a quarterback in the top 6 should transcend the Daboll offense we’ve witnessed over the last two seasons.

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be an improvement, but some of the inconsistencies about the offense wouldn’t be readily fixed with McCarthy added to the room. However, it’s plausible he can continue to develop and reach a new level of quarterbacking.

GRADE: 6.49