Mel Kiper Jr. predicts 'interesting' JJ McCarthy to be drafted No. 8 overall by Atlanta Falcons

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is readying for the 2024 NFL Draft, and he has eyes on where the top available quarterbacks could land.

While many have theorized the top three is set with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels being picked in some order, there are teams outside the top of the draft who could be looking for their next signal-caller.

One of those teams is the Atlanta Falcons. They rolled the dice with Desmond Ridder last season, and it came up snake eyes. Now, Kiper Jr. is predicting they could turn towards J.J. McCarthy, after the quarterback led Michigan to a national title.

“J.J. McCarthy is interesting,” Kiper prefaced, via ESPN’s First Draft show. “We know how much Jim Harbaugh loves his former quarterback at Michigan. There’s mixed opinion, I think, around J.J. McCarthy coming into this draft. He didn’t have to carry that football team on his shoulders. He didn’t have to do it. He had an offensive line, he had a running game and he had a defense. When he had to make plays, J.J. did.

“J.J. just turned 21 years of age. J.J. is a competitor. J.J. is an athlete who can beat you with his legs. He had a key run in that national title game, got them out of trouble and was a pivotal moment when he did that with his legs. He made throws, a couple of them were dropped by receivers. Bottom line is, J.J. McCarthy, if you believe in this kid, I don’t care about what everyone else is saying, I care about what the Falcons brain-trust believes about J.J. McCarthy. You feel he’s a franchise quarterback, if you’re in lockstep with Jim Harbaugh on this, then you take him at eight. You take J.J. McCarthy.”

Alas, Kiper’s prediction comes after the aforementioned Harbaugh stated McCarthy should be the top quarterback drafted come April, during an appearance on The Herd last week.

“Arm talent, athleticism, it-factor, winning with numbing repetition,” Harbaugh told Colin Cowherd of McCarthy’s best attributes. “Don’t be surprised if/when he goes, if he’s the No. 1 quarterback off the board. That’s my prediction right now. 

“When people get a load of JJ and how he can throw the ball, how he spins it, his athleticism, his intelligence, the it-factor, the competitiveness he has, and they get around him and really start digging in and talking to him, yeah, that’s an early prediction for the 2024 NFL Draft.”

In that case, it’d be a steal for the Atlanta Falcons with their pick. Time will tell, but it’s going to be something to watch in the coming NFL Draft, whether J.J. McCarthy has more believers than doubters.