Matt Miller gives NFL Draft range for JJ McCarthy, how to improve stock at combine

According to ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller, Michigan quarterback JJ MCarthy has the most to lose or gain of any quarterback participating in the combine.

McCarthy currently seems to be sitting mostly in that No. 4 spot among quarterbacks at the moment. Caleb Williams is the favorite at No. 1 and then Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye appear to be the options right behind him. Maybe some experts and scouts believe McCarthy is with that group, but for the most part, he’s a peg below that crew. To move up, he’s just got to show off more skills than he did this past season.

“Yeah, I think the biggest thing is… we want to see JJ McCarthy throw outside the framework of that Michigan offense,” explained Miller, noting that he simply wasn’t tasked with doing a whole lot under center.

“Is he going to be able to make some of the deep throws that, frankly, they didn’t ask him to do? Since their run game and offensive line were so great, the defense was so dominant, that a lot of times, he wasn’t even throwing in the fourth quarter, if he even played in the fourth quarter of games.”

Matt Miller knows that McCarthy can operate comfortably in the short game and can certainly game-manage to a competent degree. But it’s the dynamic downfield playmaking that’s the real question.

“So I want to see how he looks throwing the deep outs. Let’s see him throw vertically, let’s see him try to hit some of those 20-25-yard in-and-out routes, because, again, that’s just not on the Michigan tape. It was a lot of dink and dunk at times, which worked, so it was hard to criticize. But scouts do want to see: what can McCarthy do as a natural thrower?”

The bones of a terrific quarterback prospect are there. But Miller says NFL teams just have to see it live before deciding whether he’s the fourth QB in that top tier or maybe a guy who’s a step below the top three.

“He does have loose mechanics, he does have good arm strength, he’s a good athlete. There’s range talk right now. He could come off the board between pick No. 3 and pick No. 10. That could be solidified with a good workout since the top three quarterbacks aren’t working out.”

McCarthy has quite a bit to gain today in Indianapolis.