JJ McCarthy praised as a top 3 QB pros pear in 2024 NFL Draft
Title spoils his placement on this list a bit but this one is definitely worth a read. I feel like JJ’s draft stock has been very difficult to gauge since we began thinking about the ‘24 draft, but Brugler is a trusted voice who really likes JJ. Things like this just gotta make you feel good about his continued development going into next season
Is a pros pear better than a pros apple? 😊
I would say most definitely not; pears are gross. But at least they're not buckeyes.
Pears are awesome, but much shorter shelf life and narrower window to eat at peak ripeness. So so good, though.
That is true of most pears. Prickly pears have a longer shelf life of up to 2 to 5 weeks when stored at 5 to 8 degrees centigrade and 90-95% relative humidity.
However, the prickly pear is not a member of the pear fruit family. So, if you meant to include only the pear family and not any comestible with the name "pear" you are absolutely correct.
Fruit nerd
EDIT: “Prospect,” not “pros pear.” My bags are already packed for Bolivia after this one
Bolivia might be a bit harsh for a minor typo/first offense. A month-long Louisiana vacation in July might be more apt. 😂
Just make sure to pack your deodorant, and this:
Stuff works. I can attesticle.
I am going through south China for three weeks in August so I am unironically asking if this is real and actually works?
Truly one of the best purchases I ever made. I actually heard about it from someone on the board here years ago.
Yes, really does. Has a pleasant, very mild smell. Is expensive, and I use it in deep summer when I am going to get a lot of exercise in addition to my morning routine. Clean up, put it on. Really seems to prevent itching and general nastiness. Apply a little bit to wet hands for best application. Don't try to use for other purposes. :)
I imagine 10 years from now "pros pear" will still be a meme on mgoblog
You thought you'd get to bosc in the glory of being the first to break the news, but your proofreading fail means that we will point and laugh, anjou will just have to live down the shame.
That is great news for the team and recruiting. The interesting thing is that we haven't even seen the leap yet.
Hoping that we see significant progress from our WRs as well.
If JJ adds some muscle and weight on and improves accuracy down field he will be a first round pick. Got good measurables, good stats, good intangibles. Excited for him and the team this fall!
sounds delicious
Ripe for the picking...
My hope is that his long ball accuracy issues were related to his rotator cuff problems from 2 years ago that shut his throwing down for close to 6 months. We know he has the ability to throw for distance, so if his touch is back on the intermediate to long throw, then his pro prospects go through the roof.
Clearly you meant to write, “pro pros pear.” No worries—I’ve got you covered.
Couple things about him make me wonder:
1) He has good weapons, but not great ones. No elite playmaker either in the slot or on the outside. As a result, other than the tight ends, there aren't go-to guys he can toss it up to..
2) It seems like he's still taking a very conservative approach to QB'ing, which I think is Harbaugh's preference.. because there's no reason our pass game needs to take risks about 95% of the time. But that doesn't tell me he can walk down the field against a good defense and fling it around and make the reads to know where... not saying he can't.. but it looked last year in the regular season and even until the playoff, like he has 1 primary and 1 back read tops and then he ran or improvised.
Also, another year of experience will help on this, but.. wondering how much #1 affects #2 or vice versa.
1) I think the combination of Loveland, Barner, Edwards, Wilson, Morris, Johnson, etc. will be more than enough in the passing game. Loveland and Edwards will be dynamic as slot weapons
2) It does sound like Moore wants to open the offense up a bit more this year and I hope we do because JJ showed the last 3 games of the season that he can handle that. However, I'll believe it when I see it because it feels like we hear that every offseason
Those weapons are fine against Illinois and MSU and even OSU :) hahahaha they suck.
But, against Georgia, Bama etc.. if that is where we are headed, I don't think those weapons stack up. But this gets back to recruiting and stars, etc..etc.. so lets not go there.
We do hear "open things up"... what I'd like to see, is in a game, which we know we'll have.. against a team that is giving us a run, like Illinois last year.. I would be far happier knowing that we are the aggressors, and don't tighten up and get uber conservative. That seems to be the reaction to pressure... Would be nice to see a team stuffing us and say.. ok JJ, let it rip and run it up. Illinois had a few good players last year and we sat some guys, but.. that shouldn't have been that close. Reminded me of the Carr era of... we will squeak by, but we won't step on your throat... low risk.
Illinois had a few good players last year and we sat some guys, but.. that shouldn't have been that close
Huh? Illinois had one of the best defenses in the country last year and both Edwards and Corum were injured. When you have zero run game and are playing one of the best defenses in the country, yeah, it's gonna be hard to move the ball
Right - we sat a few guys, but what I'm saying is... if we want to say "sky is the limit", then I think once in a while JJ should be able to take over a game... i dont know why everyone gets so defensive. we all love him and the team.
They had a good defense, yes.. but we scraped by them with some luck at the end. There's always those types of games - and you want your QB to take over in those moments if you believe he's an elite talent.
In the 2 weeks prior, Purdue and MSU scored 23 and 31 in beating Illinois @ illinois in both games.
Then at the Big house, we manage to get by with some... lets call it.. favorable things happening.
Whatever, my POINT is... in those types of games, I'd like our QB to take over, when we know our run game isn't going to be amazing. JJ was 18-34 for 208 yards, with no TDs. BTW, Corum had 108 yards rushing that game.
Regarding Illinois’s defense and Corum’s rushing yards, ummm…you may want to go back and rewatch that game.
BTW, Corum had 108 yards rushing that game.
And then what happened...
Roman Wilson will be one of the fastest guys on the field every single game he plays. I think he is going to have a big season. He can take the top off and generate space on the field for everyone.
CJ is solid and Tyler Morris is going to be sneaky good. O’ Leary was not a fluke and is going to get open and catch the ball.
Clemons is the guy that would be great to see develop if he could bring that Nico Collins type physical dominance jump ball skill set it would be great to see.
Right, but roman shoulda been that guy last year.. and he really wasn't. He had 25 catches for 375 on the season. So, maybe he will, but.. I tend to think someone else will step up. I love wilson, but they don't go to him enough.
Maybe O'Leary is the new Ronnie bell.. underrated but dependable and a magnet for the ball.
I would like either a big WR who, as you can say, is physical to go up and get it... and I would love a burner who gets the ball in space and explodes... mcdooooooooooooooom. kidding, but not kidding. Xavier worthy type i spose.
It’s funny you mentioned Xavier because I was thinking I sure would like to have him on this team right now.
I think having a season under your belt playing WR can make a huge difference. It’s not an easy position to learn. Combine that with JJ now having a full season of experience as a starter and it should be good things for Roman. Dude can blaze.
And CJ is going to be solid. Darboh and Chesson had nice senior year bumps.
This offense has plenty of weapons. Would like to Clemons put it all together.
It feels like JJ's draft profile is going to be very similar to Zach Wilson's. He probably won't go 2nd overall, but the profile is very similar and I think JJ actually has the advantage given he plays in a pro style offense which might give him a greater chance at success. If JJ can take the next step, becomes more confident, and eliminate some of those layup misses, then there is no reason he can't be a 1st rounder
Disclaimer: Comparing JJ to pre-draft Zach Wilson is not an insult
J.J. Praises Prickly Pear. Film at 11.
Sounds like as NIL deal just keep the kid away from those margaritas or the season may go off the rails.
If he performs at a level that makes him a top-3 QB in the next draft then Michigan should be back in the playoff. Looking forward to another great season of Michigan football here in a few weeks!
I was going to make the same comment.
Given the talent at every other position, a JJ that plays like a 1st round pick almost definitely puts Michigan back in the playoff.
I don't buy the argument that the team doesn't have enough other weapons. You don't need to be elite at every single position. The running game and OL are elite...and this helps to open up the passing game. There's more than enough talent at TE and WR...not to mention having running backs who can catch the ball.
From what I've seen, JJ is a fairly polarizing prospect at this stage. I think others here have hit on the main reason: small sample size. Based on his tools, a 2nd/3rd round grade would make sense, but I have a tough time pushing him higher than that. I'd like to see him put the team on his back more, but absent that, he should be putting up crazy stats while leaning on his playmakers, like Mac Jones in 2020 with Najee Harris, Jaylen Waddle, and Devonta Smith.
He's polarizing to the general population for a few reasons:
- Small sample size
- The TCU game was many people's first time laying eyes on his game
- Michigan's passing game was pretty conservative for most of the year so his stats don't pop
I think draft analysts who actually watch his game on a micro level are higher on him
He has a very strong arm, above average mobility, shows an ability to improvise when a play breaks down while keeping his eyes down field, has adequate size and has avoided major injury. He's going in the first round when he decides his college career is over.
The only thing that I could see holding him back from first round status, aside from sustaining any kind of major injury, is if in his final season or two, he's still viewed as a QB who isn't asked to do enough.
There may be some who still view him through the lens of being some kind of "plus game manager." That he's only asked to make plays when he has to, and that his running game makes him look better than he is.
Fortunately, this upcoming season has an opportunity to change that narrative. His shoulder hopefully should no longer be an issue, he's got a full year of starting under his belt, and my guess is that with that, Harbaugh will be willing to balance the offense out a bit more. I think they will always still be run first, which you probably should be when you have two Heisman-caliber, All-American potential RBs as your 1A and 1B. But I believe Harbaugh and Moore are going to loosen the reins this season, even if just a little bit, and allow McCarthy to make more plays through the air.
I think it will mostly depend on the system of the NFL team drafting him. Some teams don't lean on the qb to carry the offense. SF, Tenn, NYG, Philly for example are fairly run heavy with some RPO principles. Harbaugh's offense should prepare him very well with pre-snap reads and terminology. If he maintains a low turnover rate, I think quite a few teams will be interested. Potential seems to outweigh college production these days.
I would prefer to see JJ as the #1 QB in the '25 draft.
If that comes about, there's a good chance he quarterbacked a national championship team.
I do think a few things go into JJ's favor on this as far as why he's projected like this:
1) He's playing for a coach who has been very successful in the NFL and had extremely good QB play in the NFL, so it's presumed that Harbaugh is imparting onto McCarthy the same things that helped resurrect Alex Smith's career and turn Kaepernick into one of the best QBs in the league for those few years.
2) I don't know if Michigan's offense is considered to be "an NFL offense" or close to an NFL offense, but I have to believe that McCarthy is being asked to do things within that offense that NFL QBs are expected to do. Or he is at least being given the proper foundation to understand how to do those things. Again, this all goes back to playing for a coach who was highly successful in the league and had extremely good QB play while there, so my guess is that McCarthy is being looked at as a "quick study" who can look at an NFL playbook and not need a big learning curve. He's likely being taught NFL concepts.
3) He was, by and large, extremely efficient last year, and its reasonable to assume he'll take another step forward this year. He wasn't asked to to do a ton last year because he usually didn't have to, but OSU (and to some extent, TCU) showed that if called upon, McCarthy can be the guy that you give the ball to and say "You need to be the guy who wins this game for us." TCU showed he has things to work on, but that foundation is there.
4) He's got the measurables. He can make all the throws, he can operate outside the pocket, and he can run when he has to. Running doesn't define his QB play, but its certainly an added element. Shoot, Josh Allen was drafted strictly on his measurables and he went seventh overall.
McCarthy can be the guy that you give the ball to and say "You need to be the guy who wins this game for us." TCU showed he has things to work on, but that foundation is there.
This is something that I feel like people ignore about the TCU game. For as bad as the 2 pick-6s were, JJ was also a huge reason we were in that game. He made huge plays with arm and his feet in the second half
I don't have an Athletic subscription, so I haven't read the article, but your take makes a lot of sense to me. I remember a few months back an article or two that had JJ listed somewhere between 6th and 9th, which seemed low.
Remember how most of us felt about JJ after the first few games of last year, when he was completing nearly 80% of his passes? The hope is that with a year of experience as a starter plus 9 more months of preparation we have a QB that looks more like that for an entire season. He looked pretty damn good in the second half against TCU, 2nd pick 6 notwithstanding.
I've copied his stats from last year below. What can we expect to see from JJ this year? Are 30 TDs with a 70% completion percentage and <=8 INTs on 350-400 attempts a reasonable expectation? Would that make him a surefire 1st round draft choice? I would think so.
I haven't seen Drake Maye play, but if he's mentioned in the same breath as Caleb Williams, that's pretty impressive.
There's a very good chance that JJ is the best draft prospect at QB that Michigan has ever had. Michigan QBs have had a lot of success in the NFL, but they haven't been drafted early.
I wonder just how high Drew Hensen would have been drafted, had he not been seduced by the Dark Sidebrenner to play 3B.
He would have been taken #1 overall! I believe David Carr was taken their that year
Didn’t go through whole thread so this might of been stated but I think people forget JJ not only had no spring last year the kid couldn’t throw at all well into the summer to repair the shoulder.
IMO JJ will shine this year and become a household name across the nation.
He is one of the best QBs that we've had in a LONG time. I'm sure he will be fine in the draft, but you can't ignore some of his bad decision making. He seems to have a problem throwing to the right side of the field. Pick 6 against PSU and 2 pick 6s against TCU. The interception in the B1G championship wasn't great either. I'm glad he is our QB but I'm just trying to be objective.
My half-baked theory on JJ last year is that lack of in-season practice time on the passing game caused JJ's performance to deteriorate throughout the season. He came out of gates with pinpoint accuracy in the first few games after (presumably) extended practice time for both running and passing plays afforded by the more-generous summer practice schedule. When practice time is more limited during the season, the team had to prioritize, and based on the success of the running game and the complexity of the running schemes as described by Brian & Seth, I'm thinking the team devoted much more time to running plays in practice. Then after a month off (again, with presumably more practice) JJ lights it up against TCU (outside of the two pick 6s).
The obvious flaws in this argument are that his drop-off in accuracy coincided with much tougher competition, that I'm backing this up with no data whatsoever, and that I have no idea what the team actually does in practice.
Other than that, it seems irrefutable.