Adam Schefter addresses rumors that Jim Harbaugh, Chargers will draft JJ McCarthy
There have been rumors that the Los Angeles Chargers could be in the market for a quarterback. Specifically, that head coach Jim Harbaugh may want to draft his quarterback from Michigan, JJ McCarthy.
ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter appeared on Get Up. There, he addressed those rumors as the odds on Los Angeles taking a quarterback have moved from 100-1 to 6-1.
“To that I say there’s a sucker born every minute,” Adam Schefter said. “Because there’s no chance in hell the Chargers are drafting a quarterback tomorrow night. None. Not happening.”
Together, at Michigan, Harbaugh and McCarthy won a national championship and throughout the pre-draft process, Harbaugh has heaped praise on the young quarterback. It’s a good relationship, but the reality is that the Los Angeles Chargers already have Justin Herbert.
“Now, would Jim Harbaugh love to have [McCarthy]? Sure. They just signed Justin Herbert to a contract extension last summer. They are not drafting JJ McCarthy and I don’t know why those odds would spike like that. Might there be a quarterback that goes at the five spot? Yes, I could see the Chargers trading their spot for a team that wants to move into that spot to go draft JJ McCarthy. That, certainly, is possible, but the Los Angeles Chargers will not, will not, will not draft a quarterback at number five on Thursday night.”
The hypothetical reason, beyond how much Harbaugh publicly praises McCarthy, is for the Chargers to draft a quarterback and rebuild, especially given the team’s cap problems. Ryan Clark also added that win Vegas lines move.
“It’s not even about justifying it in your mind. Vegas was built because people are stupid. All these casinos don’t stand because they don’t understand the betting lines, and if these lines are getting closer, I believe there could be some smoke to that fire,” Clark said.
Again, Clark noted that part of why this seems reasonable is because of who Jim Harbaugh is as a person and a coach.
“On the other end of it, it tells you what people think of Jim Harbaugh. One, they’ve heard him wax poetically about who JJ McCarthy is, how great he believes he is. So, they think he may take him or want him to be his quarterback. On the other piece, this dude’s a wild card. Jim Harbaugh does whatever the hell he wants to do. You can see the Los Angeles Chargers have given him the keys to the vehicle. So, if he wants to make that decision, I believe that he will,” Clark said.
“Okay, we start over here. Somebody’s gonna want Justin Herbert. If Justin Herbert is now in a crowded quarterback room, somebody is gonna want him. At the least, if I’m at five and I’m the Chargers, I want people to think I might take a quarterback because I wouldn’t. I would keep Justin Herbert. But even if I’m not ready to move on from him, I want people to think that just in case they can’t make that move at number four and JJ McCarthy is available at five.”
Despite that, Adam Schefter once again shut down the idea that the Chargers would draft a quarterback or even consider trading Justin Herbert because of his contract situation.
“I asked about this very topic a month ago and was told that all the money on Justin Herbert’s contract, the new money, has not come due and that to trade him, the cap charge would be well over $100 million, making any trade of Justin Herbert obsolete. So, I looked into this about a month ago. That was dismissed.”
Even if the Chargers won’t be drafting a quarterback fifth overall, it’s still one of the most intriguing picks in the NFL Draft.