Adam Schefter believes Jim Harbaugh ‘could dictate’ where JJ McCarthy goes in NFL Draft

If former Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy is still available with the fifth overall pick, his former head coach Jim Harbaugh could be the deciding factor in his former QB1 goes during next week’s NFL Draft — without drafting him.

NFL insider Adam Schefter, who spent time with the former Michigan QB1 earlier this week in Ann Arbor, revealed an interesting tidbit on how Harbaugh might play into McCarthy’s storyline on Thursday night.

“Like everybody, he is waiting to see where he’s going to be selected on Thursday night in Detroit, not far from Ann Arbor,” Schefter said on SportsCenter on Friday. “He’s got a house there near the draft where he’s gonna have 100 family and friends in attendance to watch to see where he could wind up in this particular draft.

“And I think most people around the league believe it will be somewhere between New England at three Minnesota at 11. And in the irony of ironies, maybe, somebody wants to trade up to pick No. 5, which happens to be held by his former head coach Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles, and Jim Harbaugh could dictate, in the end, ultimately, where JJ McCarthy goes.”

If there is a team that is willing to trade up to that particular spot, Schefter calls it the most fascinating storyline leading into next week’s draft without a doubt.

Under Harbaugh, McCarthy compiled a 27-1 record as a starter, with that .964 win percentage standing as the best among college football quarterbacks since 1971. He completed 64.6 percent of his 322 attempts in 2022 for 2719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He bumped up his completion percentage to 74.2 percent in 2023 on 287 pass attempts for 2630 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Two trips to the College Football Playoff and one national championship later, both McCarthy and Harbaugh head to the NFL fondly remembered in Ann Arbor. With McCarthy under center, the fact that Harbaugh was able to accomplish everything there is to do as a head coach in college football likely made the deal to the Chargers a bit easier for Harbaugh in the end. There wasn’t much more McCarthy could have done, either.

Heading into their next venture, Schefter believes there is a chance that their paths could cross one more time — without having McCarthy play for Harbaugh. An interesting storyline without a doubt, McCarthy will find out his fate this Thursday in Detroit.