Should Lions Explore Trading Up for J.J. McCarthy?
If there's any one quarterback from the 2024 draft class synonymous with winning, it's Michigan signal-caller J.J. McCarthy. And, it's for good reason: All he did was win in his two seasons as the Wolverines’ starter under center.
The 6-foot-3, 202-pound passer posted an impressive 27-1 record in 28 total starts between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. And most notably, he led the Maize and Blue to an undefeated campaign (15-0) and a national championship in ‘23.
Additionally, McCarthy ended up finishing his collegiate career with the best winning percentage (96.4) by a starting college quarterback since Toledo's Chuck Ealey (1971) and Oklahoma's Jimmy Harris (1956) went 35-0 and 25-0, respectively, in their time as amateur QBs.
The well-accomplished Wolverines passer deserves all the flowers he's received for helping Michigan return to the status of an elite college football program. And maybe, just maybe, his U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh – now the head man of the L.A. Chargers – was on to something when he called McCarthy “the greatest quarterback" in Michigan football history.
Yet, I'm not entirely sold on McCarthy being the next great NFL passer. And, even more than that, I'm vehemently opposed to the Detroit Lions exploring a trade for the Wolverines product.
First of all, Detroit already has its franchise passer in Jared Goff. And, whether Lions fans like it or not, the organization is going to lock Goff up with a lucrative, long-term deal this offseason.
Second, McCarthy's draft stock is rising rapidly, and so much so that multiple draft pundits – specifically, ESPN's Matt Miller and NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah – now have him going off the board within the first 15 picks of April's draft.
So, in order for Detroit general manager Brad Holmes to swing a deal for the dual-threat QB, he'd have to trade up from the No. 29 overall pick and part with multiple, valuable draft assets. I don't think that would be even remotely worth it for Holmes & Co., which have much more pressing needs to address (e.g. cornerback and EDGE) and are presently in win-now mode.
And no offense to McCarthy, but in the upcoming season, I don't think he'll be the type of difference-maker capable of catapulting the Lions to Super Bowl champions.
Now, don't get me wrong: I think the former U-M passer is equipped with the necessary intangibles – i.e. size, athleticism and precision-passing ability – to one day potentially become a successful NFL passer. I just don't see it happening for McCarthy in the immediate future, especially after he predominantly played the role of a game-manager with the Wolverines. And, that right there should be enough reason for Holmes to steer clear of the quarterback.
